Strong and Vital No 1

Inter view

Charles Eugster Was the Fittest Man in the World (1919-2017)

Dr Charles Eugster’s life has motivated many people to take up muscle training, even at a very advanced age.

He soon realised that this training also had a very positive effect on his rowing, allowing him to improve his performance (he had already won 14 gold medals in rowing competitions for senior athletes, among whom he was the oldest participant). I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr Charles Eugster in a relaxed atmosphere back in 2009. SG : Dr Eugster, STRENFLEX world champion at the age of 89 - how does that make you feel? CE : Actually quite normal (laughing). Of course I’m proud and happy, although I would have liked to have had an opponent in my age group. But I console myself with the thought that in a few years’ time there will certainly be more athletes competing in this age category and that the STRENFLEX organisation will then have to introduce age group VII, at 90+. SG : In the last Fitness Tribune, the headline on the front page read «Dr Charles Eugster, a Role Model at 89». You are not so enthusiastic about this headline. Why? CE : That’s right. I find it very unpleasant to be seen as a role model. I don’t want to be a role model, I want to be a FORERUNNER! SG : A forerunner of what? CE : For times that are coming soon. Firstly, demographics: hopefully we will see the introduction of categories for 90-year-olds in other areas of sport. Secondly, the realisation that you can «rebuild» your own body even at an advanced age - «build a new body and start a new life!» You have to understand that you do not have one job for life, but several, and that retirement gives you the unique opportunity not only to build a new body, but also to pursue a new career. If this concept becomes reality, many problems will be solved, such as the increasing shortage of top talent and the overburdening of the healthcare system. SG : Let’s leave that for a moment. Nowadays it’s not so easy to learn a new profession in old age and then find a new job. CE : Yes, it is possible! You just have to jump at your shadow and realise at 60 that you still have 30 years or more to live and look for new projects. Especially now and in the near future, you can not rely on the support of pension funds. It is also important to remember that in 1881, when Bismarck introduced retirement, the retirement age was 67 and life expectancy at the time was 42. Today, life expectancy has more than doubled and the retirement age has been lowered to 65 - in my opinion that’s grotesque! SG : That’s right, that should give us food for thought. But you just didn’t think about this aspect, you took action and started strength training, among other things. How did that come about?

Like many people in their later years, he had to decide: am I going into a retirement home and will soon be sitting in a wheelchair or is there another option? Charles Eugster had been an active rower as a young man. So he started rowing again on Lake Zurich at the Zurich Rowing Club, alone of course. Charles was a dual citizen, Swiss and British. As a dentist, he spent most of his time in England, but at the age of 65 he returned to Switzerland. His wife was not active in sport, so neither was he - a mistake that unfortunately many people make. At 70, he stopped working as a dentist because his fine motor skills were no longer 100 per cent. He then published a magazine for dentists until his 80th birthday. Afterwards his health definitely went downhill. At 85, he met a natural bodybuilder, François Gay, who ran a fitness centre not far from the rowing club. As luck would have it, this encounter led him to muscle training, which is vital for survival. Charles Eugster became Fitness Decathlon World Champion in 2008 at the age of 89. Here is the original interview with the STRENFLEX world champion (Strength-Endurance-Flexibility). His later trainer, Sylvia Gattiker , interviewed Charles Eugster at the beginning of 2009. On 15 November 2008, Dr Charles Eugster won the STRENFLEX World Champion title in the age category VI (80+). He only started strength training about three and a half years before and regretted not having done it much earlier. His training used to focus solely on rowing. And now, out of vanity and to counteract muscle loss, he began strength training with a programme developed for him by Francois Gay.

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STRONG and VITAL No. 1 - 2024