Age Is No Barrier to Top Performance
When 59 year-old Tom Watson narrowly failed to win The Open Championship at Turnberry last year, many people disbelieved that a man of his age could achieve such sporting greatness.
The subject of ageism has dominated some employment tribunals recently, and there have also been some high profile journalistic cases where famous newsreaders like Moira Stewart and Selina Scott (having been overlooked for younger ‘models’) questioned the selection process and right of equal opportunity. Why should people be rejected from further opportunity just because of their age? Why should employees have to retire at a specific age if they want to maintain their high standards of performance?
Watson’s remarkable sporting performance at Turnberry, was the catalyst to me exploring the phenomenon of age and performance. The history of sport shows us that some exceptional deeds have been accomplished by ageing performers, and therefore any modern prejudice against experienced or ‘veteran’ players may best be considered as nonsense.
Veteran Lawn Bowls champion Willie Wood is set for a record eighth appearance at the next Commonwealth Games, after being chosen to represent Scotland in Delhi. The 72-year-old has previously won two gold medals, one silver and one bronze. Wood will be the oldest member of the team and first represented Scotland at the New Zealand Games in 1974. Wood’s achievement in reaching his eighth Games is unmatched by any athlete in any sport.
London County’s original Founder , Dr WG Grace, (‘The Great Cricketer’) scored his final First-Class Century on his 56th birthday for London County versus MCC in 1904. Grace was 51 years old in his last Test appearance, versus Australia at Trent Bridge, in 1899. He played his last First-Class match at the ripe old age of 58.
This week, Sachin Tendulkar became the most-capped Test cricketer (169) in the 3rd Test v Sri Lanka in Colombo, passing Steve Waugh’s record of 168 Test appearances. Last week, in his record-equalling 168th Test, Sachin made a double century for good measure. Age has not diminished Tendulkar’s hunger for runs. In the past year he has made five Test centuries:
“As long as you are mentally strong and prepared to go through the grind, age really does not matter,” Tendulkar said after the drawn first Test against Sri Lanka last week.
“I think everyone should just stop talking about the age factor. If I can score a double hundred at 37, I don’t think age really matters.”
In February 2011, (health permitting) Sachin will play in his sixth ICC Cricket World Cup.
Last week, Glamorgan and former England off-spinner, Robert Croft, took his maiden hat-trick in First-Class Cricket at the age of 40. The previous week Croft had taken his 1,000th First-Class wicket to join his run tally of 10,000 career runs. He is proving that players in the twilight of their careers can produce vintage performances. The history of Cricket shows us that Croft’s story is not unique:
Omar Henry was 40 years and 295 days old when he made his Test debut for South Africa. He was also South Africa’s first non-white Test cricketer. Other notable sporting debutants include:
James Southerton: the oldest Test Cricket debutant when he played for England against England in 1877. He was 49 years and 119 days old, and Leslie Compton who was 38 years and 64 days old when he made his England Football International debut in 1950, making him the oldest debutant since the Second World War.
Alec Stewart was 40 years old when he made his 133rd and last Test appearance for England versus South Africa at The Oval in 2003. Stewart is England’s most capped Test cricketer.
Sir Jack Hobbs, the Master Batsman, scored a total of 199 career First-Class centuries for Surrey and England, making 100 of them after the age of 40.
At the age of forty Surrey batsman Mark Ramprakash continues to dominate English First-Class Cricket. He also won BBC TV’s Strictly Come Dancing Final in 2006, displaying great charisma and the athleticism of a 21 year-old. He is playing as well as ever and could go on to follow in the footsteps of Grace and Hobbs, by playing on and on without seeming decline in his statistical achievements.
Professional Football has had its share of elite performers whose longevity mirrored their quality of peak performance.
Legendary Hungarian striker Ferenc Puskas (of the ‘Magical Magyars’) was one of the first to prove how excess weight and age did not diminish performance over time. He used his intelligence to outwit opponents as his pace slowed. After leaving his country of birth (Hungary) Puskas qualified to play for Spain, where he excelled for the Spanish giants Real Madrid in European Cup Finals, including scoring four goals versus Eintracht Frankfurt in 1962; a hat-trick versus Benfica in The European Cup Final in 1962 (aged 35); and four goals over two legs in 1965 against Feyenoord to help Real Madrid (at the age of 38) go on to win the European Cup in 1966.
Legendary Goalkeeper Dino Zoff became the oldest winner of the FIFA World Cup at 40, when he captained Italy to success in Spain 1982.
England’s most capped player is Goalkeeper Peter Shilton with 125 caps and a world record for clean sheets in FIFA World Cup Finals matches. His 30 year professional career brought him great success including playing as a 40 year old in the FIFA World Cup Italia 1990. I went to see Peter’s 1,000th Football League game on 22nd December 1996 for Leyton Orient versus Brighton and Hove Albion. It was televised live by Sky and provided a great tribute to a top-class professional who eventually hung up his gloves when he was 47, having played his 1005th and final League game.
David James 39 finished the FIFA World Cup in South Africa last month as England’s number one goalkeeper. Last season he played for Portsmouth in the FA Cup Final.
Italian left-back, Paolo Maldini, was 41 years old when he retired from a 25 year career with AC Milan, the club his father Cesare, had also graced as player and Manager, while England’s Billy Bonds was 41 years and 226 days, when he last played in the old First Division for West Ham United. Bonds made a record number 793 appearances for East London club. During the two winters I had the privilege of training with West Ham during the off-season of my professional cricket career, I witnessed the phenomenal fitness level Bonds possessed and the demanding training sessions he put himself through to maintain his energetic and combative style of play against players half his age. He was a perfect example to all aspiring professionals with regard to his commitment to intensity and quality whenever practicing or training.
The most remarkable of all footballers though was the legendary winger Sir Stanley Matthews, who was 42 in his last England appearance against Denmark, and 50 years of age in his last League appearance when he played for Stoke.
Great Britain sprinter Linford Christie was the oldest male athlete to win the 100 metres at The Olympic Games when he ran 9.96 seconds at the age of 32, while one of the greatest Olympians of all, Sir Steve Redgrave, was 38 when he won his fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal in 2000 at Sydney.
In 1990, South African runner Bruce Fordyce was 35 when he won his record ninth Comrades Marathon (90km or 55.9 miles) in 5 hours 40 minutes and 25 seconds. He had previously won eight consecutive Comrades titles up to 1998, with his fastest time being 5 hours 24 minutes and 7 seconds in 1986.
Merlene Ottey recently took part in the European Athletics Championships at the age of 50. The Jamaican sprinter is now representing Slovenia and still looking to add to her remarkable career medal tally.
Bruce Forsyth (at the ripe age of 82) is a wonderful role model for society. His vitality when presenting BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing punishing schedule of prime time TV Light Entertainment at weekends is remarkable and deserving of a Knighthood for services to entertainment and for inspiring retired people to ‘have a go’ at life still.
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth of England is now 84 years old and her 58-year reign has seen her interact with 11 different United States Presidents. Her ability to engage with people all around the world on official duty is remarkable and shows little sign of slowing despite being an octogenarian.
So, whatever one’s age, it highlights that at the top level, experienced performers are worth their weight in gold, and that age should be no barrier to performance if the love of the activity remains intact.
This phenomenon of ‘love’ is the central theme in our mentoring work with top performers and emerging players. If one can empower the performer to nurture their love for their sport (or chosen discipline), the possibility of top performance increases over time.
