91-Year-Old Weightlifter Smashes Record by More Than 50 Pounds (VIDEO)
Sy Perlis, a 91-year-old weightlifter, set a new world record in the 90-and-over weightlifting class during the National Push-Pull Bench Press and Dead Lift Championships.
Perlis, a World War II veteran, was able to lift 187.5-pounds and put himself into the record books. The Surprise, Ariz., man hoisted 52.2 pounds more than the previous mark set in the World Association of Benchers and Deadlifters, while dominating the 85-90 year-old division.
Perlis did not start lifting until he was 60 and came back even stronger after taking last year off to have a pacemaker implanted by training five days a week.
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"It gave me the opportunity to do something to test myself for one thing, and I didn't have to run around to do it, as you would in some other sports," Perlis told the Arizona Republic of weightlifting. "I got a lot of satisfaction out of it, and it made me feel good, and it was good for me."
Perlis' hobby hasn't just been beneficial for him, it's also motivated his wife.
"I always say if it weren't for my husband, I'd be at home watching TV and eating bonbons," Joan Perlis, 69, told the Arizona Republic. "He's my motivator. He makes me work out, too."
Perlis has even gained the respect of other weight lifter given his determination to be the best no matter his age.
"I would say that's pretty phenomenal," five-time world powerlifting champion Rickey Dale Crain told The Huffington Post.
Watch the video to see Perlis at the National Push-Pull Bench Press and Dead Lift Championships on June 8 in Phoenix lift the barbell to his chest and then push the weight all the way up.
