During the 2015 British Wrestling Championships, a 62-year old wrestler took home a bronze medal. While the wrestler might have been old, he had several years’ worth of wrestling experience. After stepping onto the wrestling mat at the age of 25 years, Tony Collins fell in love with the sport. Over the next 32 years, Collins would dedicate a better part of his life towards learning the most ancient forms of martial arts.
Collins told the Liverpool Echo
“I was led to believe there would be guys my age in the competition because half of the competition was for wrestling veterans. But the organizers told me there wasn’t anyone near my age group.”
Collins’ opponent was a 28-year old professional wrestler. According to the Liverpool Echo, Collins entered the competition thinking he would be facing opponents around his age. As he came to find out later on, however, there was no other opponent near his age group. While the veteran was considered an underdog by fans, wrestlers and the media, he never doubted himself. His win is seen as victory of experience over youth.
