Okay, we’ve ooohed and awed over the 17-year-old snowboarders and their peers. But how about the other end of the age spectrum? Who says world-class sports are only for adolescents or 20-something hard bodies?
Check out the oldest female Olympians at PyeongChang. Each earned a spot through exhausting training, years of experience, and their natural talents. That – and, oh yes, improvements in sports medicine.
“It’s not a given anymore that you’d become weaker and slower with aging,” Robert Litchfield, a Canadian orthopedic surgeon who has operated on around 30 Olympic-level skiers, has noted. “You can maintain a lot of physical tools if you take good care of yourself. Plus, with age comes wisdom.”
Here, the amazing 40+ women rocking the Games:
Cheryl Bernard, 51 — Curling; Canada. (No jokes about curling not being a sport, please.)
Claudia Pechstein, 45 — Speed Skating; Germany.
Hanna-Riikka Valila, 44— Hockey; Finland.
Claudia Riegler (44) — Snowboard Parallel Giant Slalom; Austria.
–Janet Siroto
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