Neville Sandiford earned the Guinness World Record for the oldest competitive croquet player (male) when he participated in an August 2025 tournament at the age of 101 years and 262 days old. Photo courtesy of Guinness World Records
Aug. 21 (UPI) — Friday marks National Senior Citizens day, but UPI Odd News believes in celebrating the exceptional elderly all year long.
Recent headlines have been filled with tales of outstanding oldsters going wing walking, water skiing, driving trucks, playing sports and even winning Tekken tournaments.
Here are five stories of superlative seniors who deserve some extra attention this National Senior Citizens Day.
British woman Betty Bromage, who has been wing walking six times since she was 87, surpassed her own Guinness World Record when she went wing-walking at the age of 97 years and 123 days old on Aug. 4.
Bromage, who previously set the record at the age of 93 in 2022, used her record attempt to raise money for the stroke unit at Cheltenham General Hospital, where she was cared for after her stroke in August 2025.
New Zealand great-grandfather Bryan Murray was 94 years and 318 days old when he went water skiing on Auckland’s Lake Kereta in April, earning the Guinness World Record for the oldest male water skier.
Murray, who has been water skiing since 1955, said he has no plans to retire from the aquatic sport and is planning to break his own record as he continues to age.
Orrin Asmus, who celebrates his 94th birthday this month, has been driving trucks since he was 19 years old, and has worked for McLaughlin Freight for the past 11 years.
The company has applied to have Asmus recognized by Guinness World Records as the oldest truck driver, a record currently held by a man who was 92 when his record was last updated in December 2025.
Neville Sandiford of New Zealand was 101 years and 262 days old when he participated in an 80+ Golf Croquet tournament in Paraparaumu, Wellington, in August 2025.
Sandiford, who is now officially the world’s oldest competitive croquet player (male), took up the game at the age of 79, and has since played in tournaments for both Association Croquet and Golf Croquet.
Hisako Sakai, 92, took the top spot at the Care eSports Association’s Tekken 8 tournament, which featured eight competitors ranging in age from 73 to 95.
Sakai defeated 74-year-old Goro Sugiyama in the finals to take the top spot in the tournament, which followed preliminary matches in Mie, Aichi and Gifu prefectures. Care eSports said it is hoping to hold a fully-national tournament in the near future.
