An 88-year-old Polish grandfather has broken the Guinness record to become the world’s oldest windsurfer. Piotr Dudek – who was given the nickname “Junior” (małolat) by his friends at the age of 80 – broke the record this week at a beach in the city of Gdynia on Poland’s Baltic coast.
“When I was a youngster, around 50, I first saw a board in the water and had to give it a try,” he told broadcaster TVN. However, Dudek, who was born in 1934, had long before then been a seafarer, working from the age of 19 on an international trade ship.
The current Guinness record is held by 86-year-old Charles Johannes Ruijter of the Netherlands. To break it, Dudek, who turns 89 next week, had to windsurf at least once in each of three consecutive months.
He achieved that feat on Tuesday this week, afterwards receiving a trophy from Gdynia’s mayor and applause from a crowd who had gathered to witness the feat.
The idea to break the record came “during a moonlight meeting over coffee”, Dudek told Radio Eska earlier this year. “We decided to call the [records] office, check the formalities, and that’s how it all started.”
The pensioner has no plans to hang up his board anytime soon. “Although I broke the record, I’m not done windsurfing,” he told Radio Gdańsk. “The season is coming, so I will spend the whole summer on the lakes.”
Dudek has also taught his daughter and granddaughter to windsurf, telling TVN that his favourite moments are “when the three of us are on boards” together.
At 88, Polish retiree Piotr Dudek is hoping to officially become the world's oldest windsurfer https://t.co/5LMJfULYkT pic.twitter.com/OReTQwiuqu
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 21, 2023
During the winter months, when windsurfing is not possible, Dudek instead goes swimming in lakes and the sea – a popular practice in Poland known as morsowanie (“walrussing”). He was a founding member of the Gdynia Walruses Association, reports Radio Eska.
“Gymnastics in the morning, a healthy lifestyle, and at least two kilometres of walking every evening” is the secret to staying healthy into old age, he says.
“He’s always smiling and positive. He’s an example to follow,” one of the walrus club’s members told RMF FM after Dudek broke the record. “We’ll now be boasting that we know him.”
Polish adventurer Aleksander Doba – who at the age of 65 became the first person to kayak unaided across the Atlantic – has died aged 74 while climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.
In 2014 he was named Adventurer of the Year by National Geographic https://t.co/B9CzgBBhJp
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) February 23, 2021
Main image credit: Gdyńskie Centrum Sportu/YouTube (screenshot)
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
