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#NoLimits

Do you remember those days when you were in primary school and people asked you what you wanted to do when you grew up? At that age, anything seemed possible: professional soccer player, hip-hop dancer, fashion designer... You could dream about doing anything and everything without being scared of failure.

Why is it that when we enter adulthood, doing anything and everything suddenly doesn’t seem so simple anymore?

In the last two weeks, I’ve really gotten into the spirit of the Olympics and I’ve been blown away from many of the athletes’ stories. Of course, American gymnast Simone Biles, American swimmer Michael Phelps and Jamaican sprint super star Usain Bolt have been amongst my favorites to follow thus far, but these champions haven’t been the only competitors that have caught my attention. 

As I continue to watch more and more events on television, it's become apparent that there are athletes of all ages at the Rio games. This year, the youngest athlete, swimmer Gaurika Singh from Nepal, is only 13 years old. On the other hand, the oldest athlete, equestrian Julie Brougham from New Zealand, is 62 and is participating in her very first Olympic games. Surprisingly, Julie isn't the oldest athlete in the history of the Olympic games. Oscar Swahn, a Swedish shooter, was 72 years old when he competed in his 3rd olympics back in 1920.

This past weekend, I attended the CanFitPro World Fitness Expo in Toronto and as I walked around, of course I noticed that there were fitness professionals and enthusiasts of all ages. In particular though, in one of my workshops, the toughest one I attended actually, there was a lady that was over 80 years old. I didn’t see her do the workout, as I was somewhere up front ‘dying’, but I was blown away when I learned her age at the end of a class which included many push-ups, planks, squats and a massive amount of cardio. 

Now, I’m 31…appearently not too young, but also not too old. The idea of someday representing Canada at the Olympics may seem a bit farfetched, but hey, I guess you never know. One thing I'm convinced of though is that we should never put a limit on our goals and dreams, whether it's our age or sex, our origin, race or religion, or even a disability or medical condition. If we want something badly enough, there are no limits to what we can achieve.

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