"Don't jump!" Taghi Askari preparing to dive at the Doha 2024 World Aquatic Championships (World Aquatics)
Standing alone on the edge of a high platform, a 100-year-old man gazed downward in silent contemplation. He quietly reflected on his past and the significance of what he was about to do next. The man took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and jumped.
The 100-year-old Taghi Askari launched into the air and landed with a splash into an Olympic-sized swimming pool to the roar of a cheering crowd. It was one of the proudest moments of Taghi Askari’s life, as he participated in the Doha 2024 World Aquatics Championships, a competitive diving and swimming competition in Qatar.
Judging a diving competition is complex, but I think we can all agree that the most important criteria is that the diver survives. By performing a non-lethal jump into the water this 100-year-old diver met – and exceeded – the crucial benchmark of not dying.
Askari’s lifelong passion for diving began as a teenager when he visited a local swimming pool and saw other children doing somersaults into a pool. Askari tried out diving as well, and after jumping into the pool several times without dying – which is extremely important – he began entering diving competitions.
"Kersplash!" the water wasn't ready for this vintage diver (World Aquatics)
In 1951 (right around the time that diving boards were invented) Taghi Askari competed in the inaugural Asian games where he received a silver and bronze medal for his skilled diving. None of the other competitors died during the games, which was a huge relief to both organizers and fans.
At the Doha 2024 World Aquatics Championship Askari was awarded a special medal in recognition of his lifelong passion for diving. With his energy and joy for life, Taghi Askari could keep diving for many years to come. I mean, eventually he’d probably be leaping off of the diving board on crutches, or rolling in a wheelchair which would make for an awkward dive, and how are they going to fish the wheelchair out of the pool, do they have to clean the pool or what, because there’s definitely going to be grime on that wheelchair’s spokes and oil in the gears, so there’s a pretty big health concern going on there with that filthy old wheelchair falling into the pool.
Also there’s a risk of him slipping and falling in one of the many puddles of water around a pool, so let’s not even start thinking about how risky the whole situation is.
Taghi Askari, you dove into a swimming pool at 100-years-old and for that, we salute you!
