'In the water you’re weightless': the 99-year-old swimmer breaking records

George Corones waited nearly a hundred years for a world record, and then two came along at once. The 99-year old Queenslander, who is wary of causing too much fuss, broke his first on Wednesday last week and by Saturday he had two to his name.

He hit the wall at the Gold Coast Aquatic centre in 56 seconds across 50m, and in two and a half minutes across 100m, smashing the record for his age group – 100 to 104. A delirious home crowd watched him become master of a very specific slice of the world.

Corones, who stopped swimming at the start of the second world war and did not start again until he was 80, is sheepish about what he’s done. He is doing his best to be unimpressed with himself and is certain his time will be beaten.

“All I can say is the public have amazed me,” he tells Guardian Australia. “They’ve overwhelmed me and they’ve been overly generous in their response to what has happened. I certainly didn’t anticipate any of this.”

Speaking over the phone from his home in Brisbane, Corones is a reluctant worldbeater. Swimming is something he does in private. It lets him exercise without pain. He only ever competes alone, and he is happy if his record encourages other masters-level swimmers to join him.

“I was a little concerned beforehand because I’ve only just come up from a break away from swimming,” he says of his recent efforts. “I wasn’t quite at the top but I was well enough.

“It wasn’t a great hurdle to beat, but it had to be done. Somehow, by someone. We’re on unbroken ground, put it that way. These current figures are waiting for the attack from the burgeoning number of masters swimmers – ladies and men – who are waiting to see what can be done. They will surmount it, that’s how it goes.”

Source: theguardian