Think you’re too old to try a new sport?
Don’t tell that to Betty Goedhart, who started on the trapeze at age 78.
I knew I might not have another chance.
It’s tempting to slow down as you get older.
The figure skater: Nancy Cox, 67
Nancy Cox never thought of herself as athletic.
Now, five decades later, she’s in the best shape of her life.
Still, those first few steps on the ice were terrifying.
“I just fell in love with it, she says.
I thought,If I work at this, I can get better.”
That first day, everybody laughed at my 1973 skates, she says.
I realized that if I was going to do this at my age, I needed decent equipment."
After purchasing new blades, Cox signed up for weekly private lessons.
On off days, she practiced during public open-skate sessions.
Every summer, she attended an adult skating camp in Lake Placid.
Cox spent hours working on basic footwork, which she says is harder than it looks.
You’re basically balancing on one blade at a time on the ice.
It takes so many different muscles in your body.
Skating felt like fun.
And as her skills on the ice improved, her body started changing, too.
“I noticed my clothes getting too big, she says.
Skating just whittled away my waist.
I started tucking shirts in again.
Her husband doubted whether she would be able to resume skating.
But that February, as soon as doctors gave their OK, Cox was back out on the ice.
And her skills continued to improve.
These days, Cox glides gracefully around the rink, arms extended.
She has mastered crossovers, backwards skating and a basic two-foot spin.
The Lake Placid Skating Club recently honored Cox by naming her its adult skater of the year.
Cox sees the health benefits of skating paying years of dividends.
Since she started, she has lost 18 pounds and dropped two sizes.
Her legs and arms are more toned than they’ve ever been.
“It’s really kind of amazing, Cox says.
Most people my age are going the other way.
In July, Englert ran a 42-minute 5K and set the world record for the 95-to-99 age group.
And he shows no signs of slowing down.
