I’m struck by the number of men and women who show up at the YMCA Anchorage to lift, swim, bike, and sweat who are well beyond me in age. Many of my fellow morning gym-goers are well into their 60s, 70s, 80s, even 90s. There is even a well-known woman who swims regularly there. She is 102 and has a special parking place as close to the front door as possible. Another regular is there five days a week, walking on the treadmill at a steep incline and hanging out with her friends. She recently told me she felt her gym friends had helped bring her into the 21st century.
The New Yorker recently produced a short documentary about a person like that. It’s called “Strong Grandma,” and it’s available for free on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3pYLcR70JA Catherine (Kay) Kuehn is a 95-year-old world record deadlifter. She explains that she is the world record holder because “no one my age was doing it.” The film, made with a deft touch by Cecilia Brown and Winslow Crane-Murdoch, is worth a watch.
As with the older gym rats I see and chat with at the Y, Kuehn finds connection in coming to athleticism later in life or staying physically active while people a third her age are there too, trying to lift each other up.
