In less than a week, George Corones has broken two swimming world records at the Australian Swimming Trials
By Ea Francisco | Lead photo from Instagram
This 99-year-old Australian swimmer just broke a world record.
During the Australian Swimming Trials for the Commonwealth Games, George Corones had broken the world record of the 100-104 age group in the 50-meter freestyle event. He touched the wall with a time of 56.12 seconds, beating the previous record by 35 seconds.
Corones is turning 100 in April, which qualifies him for the age group. He first started swimming as a kid but had to give it up because of World War II. He resumed swimming again at age 80 for exercise purposes.
“It was an exemplary swim for me, well balanced… and I was ready to hit the [wall] at the end very hard with my hand,” he told BBC.
The record is still waiting for verification by the International Swimming Federation, but it looks promising. The event at the Gold Coast was planned out specifically for this challenge, which is why he was the only competitor in it.
“At this age, it takes a while to get going… you get exhausted much more easily, but if you do it sensibly, the rewards are astronomical,” he said.
Corones went on to challenge the 100-meter freestyle record March 3 and again broke a world record previously held by John Harrison. He apparently beat the old record by a minute reports said.
“My first dozen strokes were well balanced and the trick is to just carry it on progressively, putting a little bit of increasing effort in each stroke,” he explained. “I did that until the last 10 meters. I knew I was tired and done but went on without any disturbance.”
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