Betty Brussel broke three swimming world records before lunch

On 20 January 2024, at a pool in British Columbia, a 99-year-old woman swam 400 metres freestyle in 12 minutes 50.3 seconds. The previous world record for her age group was 16:36.80. She beat it by nearly four minutes.

Before the day was over Betty Brussel had also set records in the 50m backstroke (1:24.91) and 50m breaststroke (1:56.22) — the latter a distance nobody her age had ever set a recorded time for.

She was a late starter

Brussel, born in the Netherlands and living in New Westminster, did not compete until she was 68, when she entered the B.C. Seniors Games in the early 1990s. That means her competitive career — the one that produced world records — is now more than 30 years long and started at an age when many people assume it is all over.

“I love being in a pool and gliding through the water. I feel better when I get out than when I go in.” — Betty Brussel, The Globe and Mail

“I like to be with people”

What she told the CBC about why she keeps going is the part of this story we would most like you to remember:

“It’s nice to get a medal. But when I have a good time, it’s fine.”

Many of her friends have died or moved into homes, she said, and she likes to be with people.

Sport after 70 is often sold as a way to stay physically well. It is. But Brussel is describing something else: a structure that keeps you among people, with a reason to leave the house, a place to be and a group who notice if you are not there. Loneliness in later life is as damaging to health as many physical conditions. A swimming club is a treatment for it.

The sports scientist’s verdict

Lorcan Daly, a sports scientist interviewed by the CBC alongside the story, put it plainly:

“Definitely no time is too late. Start now… because the body will respond.”

That is the consistent finding in the research on older athletes. The body of a 70-year-old who starts training does not respond as fast as a 30-year-old’s, but it responds — in strength, in aerobic capacity, in balance and in bone density. And as Brussel shows, there can be a very long runway ahead in which to improve.

Why swimming is such a good choice after 50

• It is kind to joints — the water carries your weight.
• It works the whole body, including the upper body most walkers and cyclists neglect.
• Masters swimming clubs exist almost everywhere and are used to beginners.
• You can measure progress precisely, which is motivating — Brussel has been doing exactly that for three decades.

If you cannot swim, that is not a barrier. Adult beginner lessons are common, and — as our next story on Natalie Grabow shows — learning at 59 can be the start of something enormous.