We are quick to attribute good eating habits and exercise as keys to ageing gracefully. But what about the question of never losing the competitive spirit? A healthy rivalry, whether against a near-aged competitor or your younger self, combined with the hope of achievement, seem to play an important part.

Certainly that’s the case for Yuichiro Miura.

At 86, alpinist and professional skier Miura, is another senior citizen who has celebrity-like status both in and out of Japan. In his 40s he attempted to ski down Mount Everest with a parachute on his back, a practice known as speed riding, to decelerate his descent. His feat was documented in the film "The man who skied down Everest", which won an Academy Award for best documentary in 1975.

At 70 years old, he returned to Everest and became the oldest person in the world to summit. That record was broken when Miura again made the climb at 75, and then again at the age of 80. In early 2019, Miura attempted to climb, then ski down Aconcagua, the highest peak in South America. At Plaza Colera located around 6,000m above sea level, Miura was ordered to stop by his doctor, who had accompanied him, due to concerns about the risk of heart failure triggered by the high altitude. Once back in Japan, Miura explained during a press conference that he decided to accept the doctor’s orders because he still hopes for another attempt. He is now working towards his goal to summit Everest again at 90.

The list of active seniors in Japan can go on: 83-year-old marathon runner, Michiharu Shimojo, and Seichi Sano who took up surfing at the age of 80, “on a whim,” are just some of the octogenarians who put many of us to shame. What is their secret? Is it the competitive nature of extreme sporting, or something fundamental?

Ageing gracefully

Ageing societies are becoming a global phenomenon. According to data collected by the United Nations’ World Population Prospects: the 2019 Revision, by 2050 the number of persons aged 80 and above is projected to triple, going from 143 million to 426 million.