It was almost a month ago when my daughter Lucy called to say that her boyfriend’s grandfather was going to attempt to break the Guiness Book of World Records record for the oldest person to do a headstand. Lucy had seen an article about it on the CBC newsfeed and had sent it to him. He was intrigued and decided he needed to try and pull this off.
I went over to interview the grandfather, Jim Szakos, last week and here is what I learnt. Jim is 87 and has been in Canada for 66 years. He escaped Hungary during the revolution in 1957 by hopping on a freight train with two friends in the middle of the night. He said they took a 26er with them and they should have taken water instead. However, he did admit that the alcohol made them courageous and they needed that. They came close to being shot at by Russian soldiers just near the Austrian border but somehow dodged being killed. Jim said after making it to Canada (Edmonton to be exact), the three of them got odd jobs on farms and worked just enough to buy food and finally a car that took them to Toronto and eventually to Brampton. There, Jim married and had a family. None of Jim’s other eight siblings attempted to escape Hungary, and it was eight years before he could go back and see his family. In Brampton, Jim got a job at a car factory and he biked or walked to work every day. His daughter Michelle says he never stopped. When she was a kid, she would see her dad doing quirky things like trying to balance between a chair and a table and he would then break the chair. It drove the family crazy.
Jim’s version goes like this. He says as a kid he would play soccer barefoot as they had no money for soccer boots. He always liked sports but did not focus on getting into shape until age 45 when he hurt his back and had to crawl to the bathroom for six weeks. His doctor set him up with a physio who gave him exercises which he did every day as he was determined to get his life back. Since then he says he swims and bikes everyday to keep active. He also goes to Cobs Bread and buys treats and rides them up the hill to Michelle’s house. I would like to have a Jim near me.
On June 16th a crowd of 25 gathered at the Szakos’s residence to watch Jim attempt his challenge. He needed four witnesses and he had to hold his headstand with straight legs for over 30 seconds. Jim had not liked the regulation which states ‘legs together and straight’ as the straight legs hurt his back.
Jim held his headstand for one minute and it was most impressive. We believe he got the record but he needs to wait for the adjudicators to verify his video before he gets the certificate. Now Jim says he is ready for the next challenge!
When I asked him what was next he mentioned that he would check with his cardiologist (as he has a pacemaker and is on blood thinners for a partial blocked artery) if he can do a triathlon.
The family are not surprised. He is 87 and going places, setting records and maybe stressing them out a little. Here are Jim and his wife Nuggy after the record was set.
I will keep you posted with updates on what Jim gets up to. He is certainly an inspirational octogenarian!