{"id":40481,"date":"2026-04-04T01:57:51","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T01:57:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=40481"},"modified":"2026-04-04T01:57:51","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T01:57:51","slug":"95-year-old-swimmers-workouts-stun-experts-as-she-defies-aging-shows-others-how-to-stay-strong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=40481","title":{"rendered":"95-year-old swimmer\u2019s workouts stun experts as she defies aging, shows others how to stay strong"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft wp-block-nypost-editor-partner-article-links\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>A great-grandmother, age 95, is still breaking swimming world records \u2014 and the pictures alone demonstrate her remarkably fit physique and <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/02\/14\/health\/here-are-3-simple-ways-to-stay-healthy-and-independent-as-you-age-according-to-a-doctor\/\">health routine<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/c248qzld0deo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jane Asher<\/a> recently achieved\u00a0five age group world records,\u00a0adding to her already 100-strong collection.<\/p>\n<p>The swimming legend from Merton Park, South London, also has a British Empire Medal for her dedication to the sport. <\/p>\n<p>She\u2019s in <a href=\"https:\/\/ishof.org\/honoree\/honoree-jane-asher\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the International Swimming Hall of Fame<\/a> as well, as news agency SWNS reported.<\/p>\n<p>Looking back on her long career, which includes 26 gold medals, Asher said she credits her love of the water for her\u00a0good health and long-lasting happiness.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt does keep you healthy,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have taught people who just had surgery \u2014 and their doctors were amazed by how much they improved because of the swimming.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Asher said she wants to \u201cshow people what a lot of fun you can have if you like competing and\u00a0how good you feel\u00a0when you work hard at something.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She acknowledged that \u201cquite a lot\u201d of young people nowadays \u201chave put on weight. Swimming doesn\u2019t help you to lose weight, but it finds the muscles. \u2026 It opened a whole new world for me. It made me happy and healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Taught by her mother, then teaches others<\/h2>\n<p>Born in Zambia, in southern Africa, Asher spent most of her childhood in Johannesburg, she said, where her English mother taught her to swim. <\/p>\n<p>Her interest in swimming only grew at boarding school, where she was allowed to\u00a0use the pool on her own\u00a0in the mornings, mostly doing the backstroke.<\/p>\n<p>Today, Asher is a grandmother of 11 and a great-grandmother of six \u2014 and wherever she\u2019s lived throughout her life, she\u2019s always joined local swim teams, per the SWNS report.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Jane Asher, 95, continues to break swimming records while showcasing her remarkable physique and health routine. <span class=\"credit\">Jane Asher \/ SWNS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Once she even joined a rowing club just to be in the water.<\/p>\n<p>Asher married a vet named Robbie \u2014 and when he had an accident at work, she decided to get a job teaching swimming at the local school to help\u00a0pay the family bills.<\/p>\n<p>She said her mother \u201cwas taught to\u00a0swim in the sea in Cornwall\u00a0and was addicted to water. We spent all of our free time just jumping in and out of the water. I took to it quite quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In Asher\u2019s very first swim race, \u201ca girl said that I kicked like hell. It was because my mother was watching. Now every time I have a backstroke race, I think, \u2018Mom is up there watching.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After transitioning to teaching adults <a href=\"https:\/\/nygroove.nyc\/how-to-learn-to-swim-in-nyc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">how to swim<\/a>, Asher started entering swimming competitions when she was 50 years old. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Asher has five age group world records, 26 gold medals, and is part of the International Swimming Hall of Fame. <span class=\"credit\">Jane Asher \/ SWNS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>She broke 100 records by age 80.<\/p>\n<p>The legendary swimmer broke her first European record at a 800m race in Crystal Palace \u2014 after a wedding where\u00a0she\u2019d had a few drinks.<\/p>\n<p>To this day, she competes in several different races, but said her favorite swim race is the individual medley, which involves backstroke, breaststroke, front crawl and butterfly.<\/p>\n<p>Said Asher, \u201cWhen my husband died, I started filling the time, but it was hard because there is this big hole in your life. But swimming has given me such good friends, and they give back to me.\u00a0All of my kids\u00a0are very sporty, and I am very proud of them, and I didn\u2019t realize that they are proud of me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She noted, \u201cWithout friends, life doesn\u2019t happen. There is always somebody pushing you on. I think that is what keeps me going \u2014 [knowing that] somebody [is] waiting for me.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>When looking back on her swimming career, Asher said the sport has kept her happy over the years while also mentioning, \u201cIt does keep you healthy.\u201d  <span class=\"credit\">Jane Asher \/ SWNS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In terms of her health and wellness advice for the younger generation, Asher said she\u2019d tell folks to\u00a0keep active and swim\u00a0wherever they can in order to be healthy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is a really good non-contact sport,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can\u2019t hurt yourself. Running hurts your knees and your hips, and even tennis causes shoulder problems. \u2026 I had a good kick with very strong legs.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"single__inline-module inline-module inline-module--newsletter aligncenter inline-module--nypostbusinessunit aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-newsletter\" data-source-unit=\"Inline Newsletter Module Morning Report\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__inner\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__title-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__unsubmitted-title-wrapper\">\n<h3 class=\"inline-module__title headline headline--combo-sm-md\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with all you need to know\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<p class=\"inline-module__cta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMorning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><h3 class=\"inline-module__title headline headline--combo-sm-md\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>She also pointed out, \u201cIt is good to have something to think about. It is a\u00a0bit like meditation. That is the secret, of course. You must not stiffen up, because then you go down like a stone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Asher said she has no plans to slow down.<\/p>\n<p>She\u2019s currently working toward her next competition and another potential world record in Budapest, noted the SWNS report.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/04\/03\/health\/95-year-old-swimmers-workouts-stun-experts-as-she-defies-aging-shows-others-how-to-stay-strong\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A great-grandmother, age 95, is still breaking swimming world records \u2014 and the pictures alone demonstrate her remarkably fit physique and health routine.\u00a0 Jane Asher recently&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40482,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=40481"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40481\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/40482"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=40481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=40481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=40481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}