Golden oldies - Champion sportspeople over 40
At some point in a sporting career the light flickers and it's no longer possible to keep pace with the youngsters. But there are those who go beyond 40 - like "King Kazu" in Japan, the oldest footballer in the world.
Kazuyoshi Miura - Football
Other footballers might start thinking about the end of their playing careers in their mid 30s, but “King Kazu” is still going strong at 54. Miura has been the world’s oldest professional footballer since 2017, and he intends to play on as long as he’s physically fit. His time with the Japan national team ended in 2000, while he was 33.
Tom Brady - American football
He used to be a mere backup when he started playing in the NFL in 2000, but Brady’s ambition and workrate helped him capitalize on an injury by the team's main quarterback. He hasn’t looked back since. Brady won the Super Bowl six times with the New England Patriots, and added another most recently with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the age of 43.
Martina Navratilova - Tennis
Navratilova was women's tennis' top player for five straight years, winning 18 Grand Slam titles, nine of them in Wimbledon. She retired in 1994, only to then return in 2000. At 49, she won the mixed doubles titles at the US Open in 2006.
George Foreman - Boxing
As a young boxer, Foreman fought with the likes of Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. He became world champion in 1973, only to lose the title to Ali one year later. Twenty years later, Foreman beat then-world champion Michael Moorer (right) to win the title at 45. He defended his title until the age of 49.
Birgit Fischer - Canoe
First for East Germany, then for a united Germany, she competed in a total of six summer Olympics and won eight gold medals. Birgit Fischer celebrated her last Olympic victory at the age of 42 in Athens in 2004. Even at the age of 50, in 2012, she wanted to compete for Germany in the canoe again, but heart problems prevented the comeback.
Jack Nicklaus - Golf
Nicklaus became the oldest player to win a major title in 1986, as he won the US Masters aged 46. The golf legend has been plying his trade as part of the seniors' tour since 1990. His last major tournament was the British Open in 2005. Nicklaus is also remembered for taking part in Donald Trump's election campaign.
Juan Manuel Fangio - Formula 1
Fangio's five world titles in the top class of motorsport between 1951 and 1957 were a record until 2003, when Michael Schumacher surpassed him. But Fangio is still the oldest Formula 1 World Champion. He was 46 when he won the last world championship. However, the Argentinean did not manage to get his driving licence until four years later, when he was already over 50.
Robert Parish - Basketball
He achieved legendary status in Boston in the 1980s by becoming NBA champion three times with the Celtics. But late in his career, Parish changed club colors and played first for Charlotte and finally in Chicago. Parish ably fulfilled his role as the Bulls' backup centre, and in 1997, alongside Michael Jordan, he became the oldest NBA champion in history at the age of 43.
Stephane Peterhansel - Rallying
No one is as fast in the desert sand as this man. In January 2021, the 55-year-old secured his 14th Dakar Rally success. It was the eighth victory in a car for the Frenchman, who had already won it six times on a motorbike. However, Peterhansel is not the oldest Dakar winner. The Spaniard Carlos Sainz was already 57 when he won in 2020.
Gordie Howe - Ice Hockey
Ice hockey is a rough-and-tumble game and nobody was rougher or more skilled than Gordie Howe. Seen here with the New England Whalers of the now-defunct WHA, where he played in a team with his sons Mark and Marty, Gordie returned to the NHL for one final season in 1979-80, playing in all 80 games and scoring 41 points. He played his final of 1,767 NHL games at the ripe old age of 52.