What does the oldest gymnast in the world look like? The motivating story of Joanna Kaas

Gymnastics is considered the kind of sport where you start early and finish early, and 20-year-old girls are called veterans. German Joanna Kaas is 94 years old and openly mocks stereotypes. The gray-haired grandmother in green velvet tights flutters on the bars, performs a handstand, does a cartwheel and stands on her head. War and politics shattered her dreams of an Olympic podium, but her love of gymnastics took over. The Guinness World Records old lady trains every day and doesn’t know what a pill is. Kaas is sure that the day she doesn’t go to the bars will be the last day of her life.

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Gymnastics is forbidden

Joanna was born in 1925 in Germany, which was then still called the Weimar Republic. The girl, following the example of her parents and older sisters, practiced gymnastics and enjoyed it immensely. At the age of 9, she first performed in competitions, but the coaches did not see serious prospects. With the outbreak of the Second World War about the sport and all had to forget.

At the end of the war gymnastics in Germany was banned, so athletic and energetic girl tried her handball and even became the champion of the GDR. Later, Joanna’s favorite business ceased to be outlawed. The athlete returned to the gym, but already as a coach. The woman received a profile education at the university, helped to train athletes and coaches and wrote a famous textbook on gymnastics. Among her students were GDR champions, participants of the World Championships and Olympic Games. All this time Kaas worked in parallel as a physical education teacher at school.

People don’t believe that an old lady can do this.

What this grandmother does on the parallel bars 1.6 meters high looks impressive even without discounting her age. Leg swings, transitions, head-down handstand, horizontal handstand and elegant jump – Kaas’s programs invariably delight spectators. And in floor exercises, the gymnast also does somersaults and cartwheels. Not surprisingly, many users refuse to believe in her stated age. However, the Guinness Book of Records experts have checked and stated: Joanna Kaas was indeed born in 1925.

I am most proud of one victory. I was 84 years old at the time and there were no competitors in my category. I competed in the 70-75 age group and still came first.

Dominik Bindl/Getty Images

The athlete shrugs off questions about the risk of injury. She believes that constant training is the best prevention of falls, which often happen to people of age. Joanna herself has not taken any pills for many years and feels fine.

Dancing, swimming, skydiving. What are the secrets of Kaas’ longevity?

A few years ago, the phenomenal German pensioner lost her husband. She has four grandchildren and already has great-grandchildren, but they rarely see their unique grandmother. In addition to traveling to veteran competitions, Kaas travels the world giving motivational speeches to seniors. “I had forgotten what illnesses were until I was blown out under the air conditioning in a hotel in Singapore,” laughs the cheerful old lady.

Kass calls the secret of longevity constant activity. She is sure that at any age the main thing is not to stop, but to keep moving. The woman does gymnastics for at least an hour a day, and also swims and dances. At the age of 90, the athlete jumped with a parachute for the first time. She repeated the video with imaginary participation of the same age, Queen Elizabeth II, shown at the opening ceremony of the Olympics in London.

Joanna Kaas is now 94, but she still regularly dons green velvet tights and takes to the gymnastics platform.