The Paris 2024 Olympics have brought together accomplished female athletes from all over the world, shattering age expectations on the world’s stage. These athletes are just some of the women who have spent years training, sacrificed their time and talent, supported fellow athletes and teams, and earned countless medals and accolades––proving that your ‘prime’ is whatever you make it.
Get inspired by these 7 women who’ve raised the bar, and shown us again and again that age is just a number.
Mary Hanna, 69 (Australia)
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The equestrian will be competing in her 7th Olympics, traveling reserve for Team Australia. She’s also set the standard as the oldest athlete to attend the Paris 2024 Games. Regarding her age, Hanna says she doesn’t really think about it because there’s a lot of older people riding and doing really well, claiming that young or old, it doesn’t make a difference. “If you’re fit and healthy, you can just keep going.”
“I’ve been doing this for so long now. Riding’s one of those amazing sports where you can do it no matter what your age is, or your gender. It’s a fantastic sport like that. So as long as I feel fit enough to ride a horse, I’ll keep going. Because it’s what I love to do, it’s my life. It’s everything to me.”
Nino Salukvadze, 55 (Georgia)
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Georgian sport shooter Nino Salukvadze’s dream Olympics debut came as a 19-year-old at the 1988 Games in Seoul, where she won gold in the 25m pistol and silver in the 10m events. Now, with Barcelona, Atlanta, Sydney, Athens, Beijing, London, Rio, and Tokyo under her belt, she has not missed an Olympics since citing her 90+ year old father as her inspiration to not give up. Ten-time Olympian, Salukvadze holds the record for appearances by a female athlete and ties Canadian showjumper Ian Millar for the most for any athlete.
“After the first Olympics, I couldn’t even imagine I’d compete in 10 Olympics. I will have to write a whole book (to explain my longevity), but the euphoria I experienced after winning forced me to train hard every day.”
Diana Taurasi, 42 (United States)
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For Diana Taurasi, the numbers speak for themselves—five Olympic Games, five Olympic gold medals, and 414 points scored in 38 Olympic basketball games played. But, the world-renowned athlete still finds herself justifying one number that affects her game least. When asked about a possible retirement as an athlete in her 40s, she responds “Only a woman could have 20 years of experience and it’s an achilles heel instead of something that is treasured.”
“I’m here to compete. I’m here to play at a high level. I’m here to give to my teammates, and I’m here to win a gold medal. That’s it. I don’t care about the last 20 years—I’m worried about the next 20 years.”
Oksana Chusovitina, 49 (Uzbekistan)
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Eight-time Olympian, Oksana won her first Olympic medal in 1992 at the Barcelona Summer Games in gymnastics, and became an icon for her resilience and longevity in a sport known for early retirements. A key element of Oksana’s longevity on the world’s stage is her lifelong friendship with former teammate and now coach Svetlana Boginskaya. Chusovitina had qualified for Paris 2024, but a hip injury unfortunately took her out.
“What matters is who can do great gymnastics. When you are on the podium nobody is asking you if you are 15 or 30 years old. What matters is who can do great gymnastics.”
LaTanya Sheffield, 60 (United States)
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LaTanya Sheffield is the head coach of Team USA Women’s Track and Field for the Paris 2024 Olympics. Even as the former USA National Team women’s head coach, her success goes beyond just managing the athletes in the Olympics. A former Olympian herself, LaTanya competed in the 400-meter hurdles at the Seoul Olympics in 1988. Hailey Fune, a hurdler at Cal State Long Beach says that LaTanya is, “the type of coach that makes you believe you can move mountains.”
“Share all of the life lessons and wisdom that you have. It’s so powerful. You’ve been there, you’ve seen it before.”
Sarah Storey, 46 (United Kingdom)
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Sarah Storey is a British Paralympic athlete in cycling and swimming, a multiple gold medalist in the Paralympic Games, and six time British national track champion. The 46-year-old made her debut as a swimmer in Barcelona in 1992 at age 14 before switching to cycling in Beijing in 2008. She won a record-breaking 17th Paralympic gold in Tokyo in 2021 to become Great Britain’s most decorated competitor. Storey will be competing in her 9th Paralympics in Paris.
“I never set out on this journey to be Britain’s greatest Paralympian, but to match the best man and to have more other medals is just a dream come true—well, it is almost a dream that was not one.”
Zeng Zhiying, 58 (China – Representing Chile)
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After setting aside her competitive dreams for over 30 years, Zeng Zhiying rediscovered table tennis during the 2020 lockdowns living in Chile. As a young athlete in China, she gave up the sport due to a rule adjustment that changed her game. At 54, during the COVID-19 pandemic, she bought a table and paddles and fell back in love with the sport. Now at 58, she has made her Olympic debut at the Paris Games.
“I never imagined (making it to the Olympics) because I took it up for entertainment, to do some sport. I gained confidence by playing a lot. Qualifying for the Olympics is a big, gigantic dream, and being able to fulfill it at this age is a huge happiness … It will be a little difficult but I will always keep playing until my body says stop.”
