The Gold Coast Commonwealth Games is just a month away and athletes from 70 participating nations are preparing hard to make a mark in this event. Meanwhile, 99-year-old George Corones from Australia has set the 50-metres long-course freestyle world record for his age group.
According to a Times Now report, Corones participated in a race held at the Gold Coast Aquatic Center pool, which will host the swimming competition at the Commonwealth Games next month. This race was specifically organised for Corones, and offer him a chance to break the 100-104 age group world record of 1:31:19 which was set by Briton John Harrison in 2014. Surprisingly, Corones clocked 56.12 seconds for a single length and owned the world record. He was eligible for this race as he turns 100 next month.
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Here’s the video:
After reaching this feat, Corones termed the swim ‘well balanced’. He said, “It was an exemplary swim, I wanted to hit hard the wall as it’s the only time when you are not fighting against gravity. When you’re underwater, you are in an anti-gravity environment and it’s beautiful.”
George Corones world record attempt 100m in 100-104 yo category. Smashed it! #Austrial2018 pic.twitter.com/o5A6SlpWzg
— Jurgen Jocubeit (@JurgenJocubeit) March 3, 2018
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By profession, Corones is a doctor. He gave up this sport during the World War II, and only started swimming again at the age of 80.
“I started swimming again for exercise. 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,” Times Now quoted him as saying.
99-year-old, George Corones, breaks 50 metre swimming world record at the Commonwealth Game trials. He celebrates his 100th birthday next month. https://t.co/xz9WiwqNed #7News pic.twitter.com/EMYkjW5Kp8
— 7 News Brisbane (@7NewsBrisbane) March 2, 2018
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As per reports, George Corones is all set to challenge the 100 freestyle record on March 3 as he believes that he can beat the current record of 03:23.10.
