We all know that the best of the best who shine in the Olympics start at, like, age 3-5 and train hard thorought all the years to really achieve their best in their early-mid 20s.Out of curiosity, does anyone know any olimpians that started training very late, maybe closer to their 20s and performed very well at the olympics or were there "old" olimpians on the podium ever(in their 30s)?
And theoretically do you guys think it is possible for someone to start training at an adult age and win in the OLympics?
Dima, On behalf of many of us frequent posters to this forum; I apologize for the childish hijacking of your seriously posted thread.
And back to your question – Yes I would say it is “theoretically” possible for someone to start swimming in their 20’s and still win an Olympic Gold. However, I find this scenario highly unlikely. Remember to win the gold these newcomers will need to be beat the likes of Michael Phelps and his peers.
And, yes there are rare examples of people who have achieved great success after starting later in life. I recall hearing that Larsen Jensen (American record holder in the 1500 and Olympic Silver medalist) has only been swimming 4-5 years. And of course there is the incomparable Gail Roper, to name two.
If you do have goal of becoming an elite swimmer, then I wish you the best of luck! It will take hard work, tremendous dedication, and a coach willing to work with you to achieve this goal.
Dima, On behalf of many of us frequent posters to this forum; I apologize for the childish hijacking of your seriously posted thread.
And back to your question – Yes I would say it is “theoretically” possible for someone to start swimming in their 20’s and still win an Olympic Gold. However, I find this scenario highly unlikely. Remember to win the gold these newcomers will need to be beat the likes of Michael Phelps and his peers.
And, yes there are rare examples of people who have achieved great success after starting later in life. I recall hearing that Larsen Jensen (American record holder in the 1500 and Olympic Silver medalist) has only been swimming 4-5 years. And of course there is the incomparable Gail Roper, to name two.
If you do have goal of becoming an elite swimmer, then I wish you the best of luck! It will take hard work, tremendous dedication, and a coach willing to work with you to achieve this goal.
