90-Year-Old Shatters Marathon Record by Nearly 2 Hours

Giuseppe Damato didn't break the world marathon record for runners 90 and older by a few minutes. He demolished it by one hour and 44 minutes.

In April, the Italian grandfather finished the Milan Marathon in 4:30:30, shattering the previous record of 6:14:44. A week later, he set another world record at the half-marathon in Torino, crossing the line in 2:07.

The remarkable part? Running wasn't even Giuseppe's sport for most of his life.

Born in Torino in 1936, Giuseppe spent decades cycling and boxing. At 72, after a minor cycling accident, his wife Elda convinced him the bike had become too risky. So he laced up running shoes and entered his first marathon that same year, finishing in 3:40.

Milan was his 17th marathon. He cross-trains by playing tennis regularly with friends.

Giuseppe hasn't obsessed over VO2 max numbers or studied pace charts. His training looks like most people's retirement dreams: relaxed 10 to 15 kilometer runs with friends, most of them decades younger. "Being so young at heart, he loves sharing time with younger people and finds it very stimulating," his grandson Stefano explains.

He often runs 18 kilometers round trip to visit Elda at the cemetery. She passed away in 2012.

His cardiologist regularly tells him his test results look like those of a much younger person. Giuseppe eats fruit at every meal, vegetables daily, and saves alcohol for special family occasions. Breakfast is simple: orange juice and a cappuccino.

Why This Inspires

Giuseppe's secret isn't a revolutionary training plan or strict diet. It's something simpler and more powerful: an irrepressible zest for life.

"Despite having faced difficult times and complex situations, he is someone who always sees the best in others and in every circumstance," Stefano says. At the Milan finish line, Giuseppe wasn't celebrating his achievement. He was already planning his next race.

"I'm not even that tired," he told the announcer. "Next Sunday I'm doing a half-marathon." He did, and claimed that second world record.

Giuseppe's outlook has inspired his entire family to embrace sports. Stefano, 28, recently started running and paced his grandfather at Milan alongside his uncle. Their first race together was the Lugano 10K.

Now 90, Giuseppe plans to keep running for another decade and has the 2027 Milan Marathon on his calendar, ready to chase another personal best.