Sports

Elite Athletes Who Shone Past Age 40

Darren - October 30, 2019

Sports

Elite Athletes Who Shone Past Age 40

Darren - October 30, 2019

19. Dikembe Mutombo

This eight-time All-Star has come a long way from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Mutombo moved to the US to go to college at the age of 21. In 1991, he joined the Denver Nuggets. The Congolese star made an instant impact on their defense. Meanwhile, his finger-wag after each block became iconic.

Nobody could have expected him to continue playing until 2009. After turning 40 in 2006, he became the oldest player in NBA history to record more than 20 rebounds in a game with 22. Mutombo is also a four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year. Finally, his humanitarian work also deserves much respect.

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18. Darrell Green

Pro Football Hall of Famer Green is one of the greatest cornerbacks ever to play in the NFL. He spent his entire 21-year career with the Washington Redskins. ‘The Ageless Wonder’ is a two-time Super Bowl champion and is still the oldest cornerback to ever play in the league.

Green was able to maintain an elite level well into the twilight of his career. He’s also the oldest player to record an interception at the age of 41. He’s also a Redskins legend, having made more appearances for the franchise than any other player. To sum up, he was a magnificent talent.

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17. Oksana Chusovitina

This Ukrainian gymnast’s career just doesn’t make sense. Firstly, gymnasts usually peak in their late teens. By the time they enter their 20s, they’re usually entering the twilight of their careers. Look at Simone Biles’s career. Chusovitina is 44 and is hoping to make it to her eighth Olympic Games.

Very few elite gymnasts are able to return to the sport after giving birth. However, Chusovitina did this as well, redefining what it means to be a gymnast in the process. The three-time World Champion is an Olympic Silver medalist. If she makes it to Tokyo it will be an incredible story.

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16. Hank Aaron

Aaron was a brilliant baseball player. But more importantly, he was also a cultural icon. Aaron held the MLB career record for home runs for 33 years. He spent 22 years with the Atlanta Braves before moving to the Milwaukee Braves for a couple of seasons. It was a long and brilliant career.

At the age of 40, he recorded his 715th home run to edge out Babe Ruth as home run champion. At the time, the US was going through a time of significant racial upheaval. However, Aaron still got a standing ovation from the Georgia crowd. A beautiful sporting moment.

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15. Yuchiro Miura

He’s not the most famous name on this list, but he’s definitely worthy of a place on it. Japanese climber and skier Miura is the oldest person to climb Mt. Everest. He broke his own remarkable record at the age of 80 in 2013. This made him the first octagenarian to reach the summit.

This wasn’t even his first encounter with Everest. His relationship with the world’s tallest mountain goes as far back as the 1970s when he famously skied down the peak. Miura first set the record for the oldest person to climb the mountain when he was 70. Some people just don’t stop. However, doctors have banned him from attempting it again.

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14. Dara Torres

This 12-time Olympic medallist had a stunning career. She was the first elite swimmer to qualify for five Olympics. Torres achieved this over a two-decade career. Her longevity is all the more remarkable when you factor in that she medaled in each of those tournaments.

Torres was the oldest swimmer in the history of the US national team when she competed in Beijing at the age of 41. This came a couple of years after the birth of her first child. She went on to win three silver medals, putting younger athletes to shame.

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13. Richard Petty

Another legend on this list, ‘The King’ raced from 1958 to 1992. He came from racing stock as his father Lee won the first-ever Daytona 500 in 1959. Petty is the only driver to win the NASCAR Championship Cup seven times, winning a record 200 races in his career.

Petty collected a record number of poles (127) and over 700 Top 10 finishes in his record 1,184 starts, including 513 consecutive starts from 1971–1989. He retired at the age of 55 but remains very active in motorsports. He now owns his own elite racing team. However, his grandson tragically died during a warm-up lap in 2000.

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12. Gordie Howe

Howe is a legendary figure in the hockey world. Remarkably, in his final full year in the NHL, he helped the Hartford Whalers to the playoffs at the age 0f 51. Insanely, he was a 23-time All-Star and holds many hockey records. These include the most professional seasons and games played.

In 1997, he returned for a single game with the Detroit Vipers, which technically means he played in six different decades. Howe is one of the most complete players ever to play hockey. Furthermore, he even played alongside his sons with the Houston Aeros. Surely, that was one of the highlights of his career and something no other hockey player will likely accomplish.

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11. Martina Navratilova

The Czech star is the oldest female tennis player to win a major. She achieved this in 2006 when she remarkably won the mixed doubles at the US Open at the age of 49. Some consider her the best female tennis player of all-time, although Serena Williams might have something to say about that.

She won more singles and doubles titles in the Open era than any other elite player. Although most of her victories came in the 1970s and 80s, she played well into her 40s. Navratilova’s rivalry with Chris Evert is the stuff of legend in tennis. She is the only player in history to have held the top spot in both singles and doubles for over 200 weeks.

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10. Randy Couture

Couture takes this list to the next level. First of all, he’s the only UFC fighter to have won a title after entering the Hall of Fame. That’s only one of his many elite accolades. He’s a six-time champion across two weight classes. Some even believe that he’s the greatest heavyweight of all-time.

If he’s not the greatest, Couture was definitely the oldest. After a brief retirement, he decided to come back and fight again at the age of 43. Then he smashed Tim Sylvia and secured the crown again. To sum it up, Couture would continue fighting until he was 46.

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9. Edwin Van Der Sar

Van Der Sar is the oldest soccer player to win the Premier League. Manchester United wanted the Dutch international for a long time, but he arrived late to Old Trafford. However, it’s often the case though that goalkeepers actually get better with age. Their maturity and decision-making improve so they peak later than outfield players.

That was definitely the case for Van Der Sar. The former Best European Goalkeeper was over 40 when he won the Premier League in 2011. In the 2008–09 season, he set the world league clean sheet record by not conceding a single goal for 1,311 minutes. To sum it up, he was an incredible, elite professional.

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8. Barry Bonds

Bonds played into his 40s, but he wasn’t there to just make up the numbers. He won his seventh national league MVP award at the age of 40 after an astounding season with the San Francisco Giants. The MLB All-Star continued to perform at a high-level, playing for a further two years.

However, there is controversy surrounding his career because of his steroid use. Despite this, Bonds’ legacy is still intact. Bonds is the only player in MLB history with over 500 home runs and 500 stolen bases. Finally, he also won eight Gold Glove awards for his elite defensive play in the outfield.

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7. Brett Favre

Favre was the first NFL quarterback to complete 6000 passes, pass for 500 touchdowns, throw for 70,000 yards, and attempt 10,000 passes. That should tell you something about his longevity. The 20-year veteran spent most of his elite career with the Green Bay Packers, but also played for the Jets and the Vikings.

One of the sport’s greatest quarterbacks, he’s the only player to win the NFL MVP award three consecutive times. During his time with the Packers, he made an NFL record 297 consecutive starts. Meanwhile, he was also the first quarterback to defeat each one of the league’s 32 franchises.

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6. Jack Nicklaus

Some people will tell you to forget about Tiger Woods because Jack Nicklaus is the greatest golfer of all-time. It’s not difficult to understand that. Over the course of 25 years, he won a record 18 major championships. To sum up, that’s three more than his closest elite rival, Woods. He’s also in third place for overall PGA tour victories.

But it took him a long time to slow down. Nicklaus won his fourth US Open and fifth PGA championship at the age of 40. ‘The Golden Bear’ had even more to give. Six years later, at the age of 46, he won his sixth Masters. That makes him the oldest major winner in the history of professional golf.

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5. George Foreman

Foreman is the oldest heavyweight boxing champion ever. The Olympic gold medalist turned professional in 1967. Who could have known that he’d be fighting until 1997? ‘Big George’ first won the heavyweight title in 1973 when he beat Joe Frazier. But he’d drop the belt to Muhammad Ali in ‘The Rumble in the Jungle.’

He retired for 10 years after becoming disillusioned with the sport. However, this elite talent couldn’t stay on the side. In 1995, Foreman knocked out 26-year-old Michael Moorer to win the unified WBA, IBF, and lineal titles. He was 45, the oldest heavyweight champion ever and the second oldest boxing champion behind Bernard Hopkins.

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4. Bernard Lagat

This man is a true freak of nature. Typically, as you get older, everybody’s bodies begin to slow down. For elite athletes like soccer players or runners, this can decimate your career. However, Lagat has defied the odds by continuing to race into his 40s. This just isn’t right.

Lagat is a five-time Olympian. His most recent appearance was in Rio De Janeiro. He’s a 13-time medalist in the World Championships and Olympics. Remarkably, he was 41 when he competed in Brazil. He also finished fifth out of 16 in the 5000m. To sum up, this was crazy for his age.

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3. Kazuyoshi Miura

Known as ‘King Kazu’ in his native Japan, Miura has an even bigger following there than David Beckham ever did in Great Britain. He currently plays for Yokohama FC in Japan’s J-League. This may seem unexceptional but Miura is 52 years old and first became a professional soccer player in 1986. Furthermore, the J-League is regarded as a top-tier competition.

The former Japanese international played 89 times for his country, making his last appearance back in 2000. He has the record for the oldest goal scorer in professional soccer when he scored against Thespalusatsu Gunma two seasons ago. Remarkably, he looks set to continue into the future.

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2. Bernard Hopkins

This man’s career just doesn’t make sense. Hopkins has a dark past that resulted in him spending time in jail. But he decided to change his life around. He became an elite boxer and the results were remarkable. In 2004 he became the undisputed world champion after beating Oscar De La Hoya.

Hopkins was the oldest boxer to hold a world title at the age of 46. He broke this record twice, winning the WBA (Super) title at the age of 49. This modern legend had a very cerebral style. He mastered the fundamentals and fought as a counterpuncher to preserve his longevity.

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1. Tom Brady

Brady is 42 and still going strong. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ quarterback is a true legend of the game. He has more Super Bowl wins than any other player with an incredible seven victories. Even more remarkable is the fact that the Patriots only drafted him in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL draft.

In short, that has proven to be the biggest steal in NFL history. Brady shone for the Patriots throughout an elite career. He has won five Super Bowl MVP awards, the most ever by a player, as well as three NFL MVP awards. Finally, at the age of 43, he also became the oldest player to win a Super Bowl. But he shows no signs of slowing down.

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Elite Athletes Who Shone Past Age 40

Elite Athletes Who Shone Past Age 40

19. Dikembe Mutombo

18. Darrell Green

17. Oksana Chusovitina

16. Hank Aaron

15. Yuchiro Miura

14. Dara Torres

13. Richard Petty

12. Gordie Howe

11. Martina Navratilova

10. Randy Couture

9. Edwin Van Der Sar

8. Barry Bonds

7. Brett Favre

6. Jack Nicklaus

5. George Foreman

4. Bernard Lagat

3. Kazuyoshi Miura

2. Bernard Hopkins

1. Tom Brady

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