They say you’re only as old as you feel. And we’re not quite sure what age Johanna Quaas feels, but we know that it’s definitely not ninety-five. The elderly woman is a gymnast from Germany, and while she may be older, she is still going strong. Very strong – enough to wow the internet after a video on Twitter showed her capable of performing a series of different acrobatics with such skill and ease.
It is no wonder that the video has gone viral. So many people are impressed that this elderly woman is still able to do flips with such coordination and strength. One person tweeted that Quaas is such an inspiration, which another person wrote that she is proof that one is truly as old as they feel.
Watch her routine below:
This amazing woman wasn’t a gymnast for her entire life. Quaas was born in 1925 and dabbled in gymnastics when she was nine years old. But then she gave up gymnastics in favor of handball just after World War II. She didn’t return to gymnastics until she was fifty-seven! And she has stuck with it ever since.
But her age did not get in her way of her going far with her gymnastics. She broke the Guinness Book of World Records in April 2012 for being the “Oldest Gymnast” when she was eighty-six-years-old, after performing a floor-and-beam routine in Rome. When Quaas was ninety-one, she performed another performance during a competition in Berlin. Given her abilities, it is no surprise that the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame inducted her back in 2015.
As for how she keeps so fit and strong for her age, Quaas told The Straits Times that it’s all about outlook, citing that she may be old but she feels young at heart. She also credited naps and a mainly plant-based diet with keeping up her health.
She added, “Maybe the day I stop doing gymnastics is the day I die.”
What an incredible woman – keep on doing what makes you happy! What do you think of Johanna Quaas? Let us know!