When Iichi Marumo competed in his first international race seven years ago in Moscow, the Japanese speedskater moved down the ice at about the pace of a brisk jog. It took him three times longer to cross the finish line than most of the other skaters that day.

It didn’t matter, because Marumo was also three times older. He was 88, and his time was still fast enough to earn him a silver medal in his age category of 85 and up. Ever since, he has won only gold. Now 95, in his most recent race, a national competition in Japan in January, he competed in a category that was created just for him: 95 and over.

So far, he has the category all to himself.

“I win a gold medal every time I appear,” Marumo said in an interview at his home in Chino, a small city in the rugged mountains of central Honshu, Japan’s main island. As proof, he pulled out a plastic shopping bag filled with more than 20 gold medals, including from races in Holland and Canada.

A small man with slightly bowed legs and an impish smile, Marumo has been skating his whole life, but he began his competitive career at an age when most people would feel lucky to still be alive. On his wall, plaques from Guinness proclaim him to be the world’s oldest male competitive speedskater.

Marumo survived World War II despite volunteering to fly a kamikaze mission, was awarded by Japan’s emperor for teaching other farmers how to profit by growing celery, and he publishes a short monthly magazine dedicated to traditional Japanese poetry.

Marumo says he wants to be skating when he’s 100, though he may not make it. He has had a few falls, but the worst came during his most recent race in January. The track was outdoors, and when the starting pistol sounded, a blizzard had blown in. Marumo fell early and couldn’t get back on his feet. Rather than give up, however, he crawled along the ice all the way to the finish line. “My left leg froze from the pain,” he recalled, “but I had to finish.”

New York Times News Service