I like to think about myself as a powerful swimmer. I’m not quick, I can’t dive or tumble flip, however once I get a lane to myself I’ll fortunately bash out 50 or 60 lengths. Give me a pleasant huge lake, and my concept of heaven is to backstroke into the center and watch the swallows overhead. I don’t fear that I’ll cramp up or out of the blue overlook how you can float.
However I’ve by no means fancied water polo. When you’ve not watched it, it’s a kind of cross between swimming, basketball and wrestling, normally performed in a pool that’s so deep it’s important to tread water or drown. There are two groups, two objectives, a big ball and an ungodly quantity of throwing, catching and flat-out sprinting. Aquatics GB, the governing physique, says gamers can swim two miles in a single sport, and wish “outstanding stamina” to deal with all of the holding and pushing.
The what? Oh sure: that is very a lot a contact sport. Aside from the goalies, gamers can solely use one hand to catch or throw the ball – however the different will get as much as all types of mischief, from keeping off opponents to dunking them underwater. There’s a variety of whistleblowing and fouls and occasional sending-offs for “brutality”. In a Q&A to clarify the frankly impenetrable guidelines, the Carolina Water Polo membership really asks: “Why is the ref condoning the drowning of my baby?”
As an lively 60-year-old, I don’t like to think about something as a teen’s sport – but when I did, this could be it.
And but right here I’m, on a Sunday afternoon in south-west London, about to leap within the pool and terrified I’ll let down each my teammates and myself. It’s all John Starbrook’s fault.
At 93, Starbrook is certainly the oldest water polo participant at Hampton Pool (which welcomes any swimmer aged eight or over), and doubtless the oldest within the nation. Alan Cammidge, the retired police officer who’s about to referee our sport, describes him as “a outstanding athlete. He has all the talents within the ebook and commonly scores.”
Starbrook has been a eager swimmer for nearly 80 years, ever since he left college on the finish of the second world warfare. As a younger man, he raced butterfly on the nationwide swimming championships. He didn’t win something in his saggy woollen costume, however he had a variety of enjoyable and by no means misplaced his love of the water. When he turned 80, he celebrated by swimming a mile or so throughout the Gulf of Corryvreckan, between the Scottish islands of Jura and Scarba. He nonetheless swims thrice per week.
A few weeks in the past, once I wrote about eager to dwell to 100, a reader requested: “Why the hell would you wanna attain 100? It’s all downhill after 40.” All I can say is, that individual has by no means met John Starbrook.
Everybody who has appears to like “the Legend”, from the children in Hampton to his fellow members of the Thames Membership, a sports activities centre close to his residence in Staines, Middlesex. And if his nickname sounds just a little excessive, that’s since you don’t know every part else he will get as much as. When he’s not with Judy, his spouse of 62 years, he spends most mornings on the fitness center. “The spin courses get me transferring,” he says, as we chat within the cafe. “After which, about 4pm or 5pm, I am going again to work on my higher physique.”
That is him taking it simple. After taking on working on the age of 53, Starbrook has accomplished a complete of 52 marathons, all over the place from London to Denmark to Barbados. His quickest time was 4 hours 14 minutes, in Snowdonia 20 or 25 years in the past. He likes to joke that it was as a result of he was being chased by sheep. His most up-to-date – and doubtless last – 26-miler was in 2019, when he was 88. He has additionally accomplished a few parachute jumps and a bunch of triathlons, although he has been recognized to wrestle with the costume adjustments. “The primary one I did, it took me seven minutes to get my wetsuit off. My mates have been all standing round and barracking me.”
Within the course of, he has raised over £50,000, principally for Age UK. The charity, which runs a variety of native train courses, calls him its ambassador, for his skill to encourage older individuals and problem stereotypes about them. “Lots of people appear to assume that once they hit 50, they’re outdated,” he has mentioned. “I hear that and I don’t know what they’re speaking about.”
His granddaughter Yarna shared his enthusiasm sufficient to run the London Marathon alongside him, however he by no means fairly satisfied his son. When Starbrook was nonetheless pounding the pavements, his boy would ask him why he bothered. Couldn’t he simply take a bus?
He’s not the one sceptic. “About 10 or 15 years in the past,” Starbrook remembers, “the physician mentioned, ‘You’ve acquired to pack in that working.’ I mentioned, ‘Yeah, all proper’ – and I did about 15 marathons after that.”
Then he breaks off to talk with one of many many ladies who can’t resist saying hey on their option to class. “His harem,” one other common calls them.
“How do you assume you’ve stored in such nice form?” I ultimately handle to ask.
“I don’t do something particular,” he says, “although I’ve by no means smoked and by no means drank a lot. My food plan’s fairly regular. I’ve porridge within the morning and I eat a variety of veg, and never a lot fried meals. I feel it’s simply my genes.”
If that’s the case, it’s most likely on his mum’s facet. He misplaced his dad, Samuel, when he was 5 months outdated – to pneumonia, he thinks, although his mum by no means preferred to speak about it. It was the Nineteen Thirties, there was no cash and Emily struggled to lift him, so Starbrook, the youngest of the three children, spent 14 years in a youngsters’s residence. “It was all proper,” he says. “I didn’t know any completely different. You don’t whenever you’re younger.”
Emily remarried, had one other son and daughter and lived to 86. Starbrook’s youthful brother, David, acquired into judo and gained silver and bronze on the 1972 and 1976 Olympics. Now 78, he nonetheless coaches the game.
Starbrook dates his personal health again to his first job, as a 15-year-old, with United Dairies in his residence city of Croydon. In 1945, in fact, everybody had milk delivered to their houses. United’s milk floats have been principally pushed by outdated males, as everybody of combating age was in uniform; they’d stick with their horses (sure, horses) whereas kids like Starbrook ran the pints to clients’ doorways. “I’m certain that was what made me match,” he says. Starbrook’s driver would sometimes carry a bottle all the best way to the doorstep, however provided that he knew there was a cup of tea ready for him.
When the time got here for nationwide service, Starbrook ended up within the military medical corps – and once more destiny lent a hand. His superiors have been obsessive about swimming, “so anybody who was a swimmer was made. I didn’t do any soldiering – all I did was participate in military competitions.”
It’s now 28 years since he retired, after elevating three youngsters, serving to to construct energy stations, working in varied outlets, and a complete quarter-century of delivering eggs to companies round Heathrow. “Lots of people nonetheless know me as John the Egg,” he says, “though I’ve been retired for all these years.”
Did he assume he would nonetheless be going sturdy at 93?
“I believed I’d go on till about 70. Once I was youthful, I believed, ‘I ponder if I’ll nonetheless be alive within the 12 months 2000.’ That was in 1945. I gained’t make it to 3000, anyway.”
How lengthy does he reckon he has left? Is that an terrible query? All of us give it some thought, don’t we?
“Folks say, ‘Oh, you’ll go on to 100!’ However I don’t care how lengthy I am going on for, so long as I’m not in any ache.”
And, barring the odd twinge, he isn’t. He has a contact of arthritis in a single knee, which sometimes retains him out of his spin class. He additionally takes a blood thinner due to an irregular heartbeat – however, as he says: “Being the age I’m, I’m fortunate that’s all I’ve acquired.”
A number of days after our chat, I be a part of him for that sport of water polo. In a quick and livid 40 minutes, I contact the ball simply twice, despite the fact that this pool has a shallow finish, so I can really get up in locations. Which may be simply as nicely, since I hold forgetting which facet I’m on. Starbrook is with the whites, whereas I’m with the blues, however the one approach you may inform is by the caps we put on to guard our ears – and since mine is on my head I can’t see it.
I nonetheless have a good time. After a couple of minutes I discover myself racing in the direction of the ball, although I don’t know what I’d do with it. And when it comes arcing in the direction of our purpose, I desperately flail up an arm in an try and deflect it. I feel I’m extra of a legal responsibility than an asset for the blues – getting in everybody’s approach, blocking the goalie’s view – however nobody is merciless sufficient to say so, and I get an actual buzz from my pointless exertions.
“You survived and needs to be very pleased with your self,” Cammidge tells me afterwards. I feel he’s being form, however I’ll take it.
Starbrook’s ever-smiling presence has lots to do with it. “I’m by no means bothered about something,” he had instructed me earlier. “My missus says I’m alone cloud.” The Aim Hanger, as he’s generally recognized, just isn’t racing round like the remainder of us, preferring to canine the opponents’ goalie, ready for an opportunity to bang the ball into the online – however he’s blissful to be within the thick of issues, and never averse to a little bit of rough-and-tumble. The week earlier than he had pushed one of many blues underwater, smiling all of the whereas. “He can nonetheless stand up and down the pool when he must,” Cammidge says. “And don’t underestimate his drive and dedication within the sort out.” It appears to be like like I acquired off evenly.
As we alter after the sport, one other participant asks me if I loved myself. Will I be again? I barely have to consider it. Sure, I did, I say. And sure, I’ll.
To help Age UK or discover out extra about its work, go to ageuk.org.uk
