Gustaf Håkansson, the 'Steel Grandpa', in a 1764 kilometer-long bicycle race at 66 years old, Sweden, 1951
Gustaf Håkansson, the 'Steel Grandpa', in a 1764 kilometer-long bicycle race at 66 years old, Sweden, 1951
The Tour was run in stages, and while the contestants slept, Håkansson would pedal up to three days without sleeping.
After 6 days, 14 hours and 20 minutes, he arrived in Ystad - 24 hours before the contestants.
Absolute mad lad
Like the sheep farmer of Australia who won an ultramarathon at the age of 61:
‚He ran at a slow and loping pace and trailed the pack by a large margin at the end of the first day. While the other competitors stopped to sleep for six hours, Young kept running. He ran continuously for five days, taking the lead during the first night and eventually winning by 10 hours. Before running the race, he had told the press that he had previously run for two to three days straight rounding up sheep in gumboots.‘
It amazes me that we once thought we could compete effectively with coats, ties, and long pants. Wild.
Stalfarfar!
That's really neat. Thanks for the share.