Many of us have dreams that we want to pursue in life, but we don’t realize our true calling until later in life when we are older. For some, we know exactly what we want to do in our youth. We grow up with a specific life in mind and we work hard until we accomplish it.
For others, we try a few things until we discover , later down the road, our true calling. These individuals, who can be “late bloomers” sometimes surprise everyone—including themselves—by what they can accomplish.
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When it comes to athletics, many believe you have to be young to accomplish things.
In the world of competitive sports, many believe that you are only “good” when you are young. The older you get, the less you are able to perform and to play. Many athletes begin competing professionally when they are in college—some even younger, in high school. By the time they reach their 30s, many are already talking about retirement .
This all depends on the sport in question.
Research indicates that sports that require more physical contact and physical agility oftentimes push athletes too far. For example, football is a contact sport that can be difficult for players to keep up with as they get older. But golf , on the other hand, has many professional players that are much older—in their 70s even.
However, not many people would believe that athletes might still be performing in their 90s.
While some sports have professional players and athletes playing well beyond the “typical” retirement age, no one would expect that an athlete would still be performing well and owning their craft well into their 90s. It would be something that would baffle just about everyone in the world.
As it turns out, one Canadian swimmer is proving that you’re never too old to go after your dreams.
Betty Brussel of British Columbia has proven the saying that you are never too old to chase your hopes and dreams. The competitive swimmer has broken not one, but two world records and she is still performing at the top of her swimming class—at the age of 97!
The proof? Well, it’s in the gold.
To show just how strong she is at swimming, Brussel says that “she can’t keep track” of how many gold medals she has won for her sport. And, while she is still swimming now in her 90s, she didn’t get her start in swimming until she was older, as well.
Brussel calls herself a “late bloomer.”
Although she swam in her youth, she did not start competitively swimming until she was in her late 60s—68-years-old to be exact. Shockingly, she was still swimming faster than most, earning her spot on the podium a number of times.
Growing up in the Netherlands, Brussel said she swam in the canal near her home.
Brussel and her 11 siblings grew up North of Amsterdam in the Netherlands and in her youth, she would swim in the canal by her home. She shared that she would wake up at 7 in the morning just to swim in the canal, even though it was super cold.
And, despite her age, Brussel does not plan on stopping.
Being well into her 90s, Brussel has suffered some health issues. The gold medal-winning swimmer has suffered a heart attack, cracked her vertebra, underwent shoulder surgery, and even broke both of her feet. However, none of these issues have stood in her way when it comes to her dream and her love of the pool.
While she is nearing the big 100, Brussel still has work to do.
Three years away from turning 100-years-old, Brussel is still going twice a week to the pool at the Guildford Recreation Centre in Surrey to train for her competitions. And, she has her sight set on two other records she hopes to break. Already, she has set two world records at masters competitions for adults.
Brussel hopes to keep on breaking those records.
“Her goal in life is to make it to 100 and break all the records in the 100 to 104 age group,” shared Carole Gair, Brussel’s former coach.
Brussel seems to be the type of athlete that sets her mind to something and crushes it. So, we can’t wait to see what other records she breaks!
