Too old to compete? This 87-year-old triathlete has tips for staying in the game
toggle caption Shawn Green/Cleveland Clinic
With the Winter Olympics starting this week, the attention on world-class athletes may motivate some of us to get off the couch and move more ourselves.
And if you think you're too out of shape, or too told to accomplish any physical feat, take it from Luise Easton, 87: You may be capable of more than you think.
Easton has competed in triathlons near and far to her home in Cleveland, and she's still at it. "When I was 80 I won in Denmark," she says. She also won a medal in Ibiza in 2023. "It feels good," she says with a girlish laugh.
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"There's not much competition in my age category," she acknowledges, so it's a bit easier to come in first, but it's just as thrilling. "You still get on the podium and everybody claps," she says.
Staying athletic as you age presents its challenges, of course. Like most Americans over the age of 60, Easton has chronic health conditions — including some issues with her heart — that require treatment and monitoring. But she's tackled them proactively.
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