Old is Gold: Top 5 sportsmen who defied age
Ryan Giggs turned 40 yesterday. It was really an unbelievable achievement. But he is not the only sportsperson to have made this record. Several other players have played till 45 or more years.
5.George Blanda (48 years, 109 days)
George Blanda
George Fredrick Blanda was a former American football quarterback and placekicker. Coming from a lower-class Slovak family, he holds the record of playing 26 seasons of professional football, the most in the sport’s history, and scoring more points than anyone in history at the time of his retirement.
He started his professional career with Chicago bears in 1949 and has played in various other teams like Houston Oilers and Oakland Raiders throughout his successful career which ended when he retired on 1976. He has been awarded with many honors in his career, the most notable being his selection in the American Football League All-Time XI.
4. Gordie Howe (52 years)
Gordie Howe
Gordie Howe is a retired Canadian Ice-Hockey player who has spent more than 35 years in the Ice-hockey circuit. Known for his exceptional skills in scoring prowess and physical strength, he is the only player to have competed in the NHL in five different decades.
He was given the title “Mr.Hockey” for the longevity of his career. He made his NHL debut with Red Wings and went onto win 4 Stanley Cups with them. His other achievements include six Hart Trophies and six Art Ross Trophies. He was even awarded with the NHL Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008.
3. Jeannie Longo (48 years)
Jeannie Longo
Jeannie Longo, often regarded as the greatest women cyclist of all times who has been 59-time French champion and 13-time world champion.
Though she began her career as a downhill skier, she later shifted to cycling. She was first noticed by experts when she won the French road race Championship at the age of 21. Her amazing medals tally even includes
4 Olympics Golds and 3 Silver and 3 Bronze.
In 2011,though, she was accused of doping and using performance-enhancing drugs. This,however, has not been proven and thus she could be given full credits of her wonderful achievements.
2. Stanley Matthews (50 years)
Stanley Matthews
One of the greatest players of the English football, Stanley Matthews has played till 50 years and 5 days.
He is the only player to have been Knighted while playing and is known as “The Wizard of the Dribble” and “The Magician”. He used to play in the Outside right position.
An England International he has spent most of his career with Stoke City, which was also his first club in professional football. His has also managed Port Vale in the 1967-1968 season. However, he was not too successful with that role.
1. Martina Navratilova (49 years)
Martina Navratilova
With a career stretching for more than 48 years, Martina Navratilova was really a revolution in Tennis. She along with Billie Jean King each have won 20 Wimbledon titles, an all-time record. Navratilova is one of just three women to have accomplished a career Grand Slam in singles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles (called the Grand Slam “boxed set”) a record she shares with Margaret Court and Doris Hart.
She was most popular for her smashes, with which she used to destroy her opponents in an attacking manner. A former world number 1, she holds the open era record for most singles titles (167) and doubles titles (177). She recorded the longest winning streak in the open era (74 consecutive matches) and three of the six longest winning streaks in the women’s open era.
In international tennis, she has not only represented undivided Czechoslovakia, Czech Republic, but also United States. In 2006, Billie Jean King quoted her as “the greatest singles, doubles and mixed doubles player who’s ever lived.”