'Never too old to start' - meet the late starters shining in new sports

Stanley Hamilton is among the most highly-decorated arm wrestlers in Northern Ireland, but what makes his success all the more remarkable is that he only got to grips with the sport in his 40s.

His rise to the top has been rapid, from absolute beginner to a world beater in less than a decade.

It is more common for people to achieve peak performance in their youth, but Stanley is far from alone in discovering a competitive edge later in life.

From marathon running to roller derby, older generations are finding new sporting passions, and sometimes unexpected talents, well beyond the age they might once have thought possible.

For Stanley, he had spent more than two decades playing rugby, but needed a change.

"I got to 40 with a lot of injuries. A lot of broken bones. I thought, right, I need something low impact," he said.

The 47-year-old always had a passive interest in the sport of arm wrestling over the years but decided to train competitively after hanging up his boots.

"It looks simple. You grab a person's hand and you drag them to the pad, but there's so much going on there.

"I realised after the first session I know absolutely nothing about arm wrestling.

"I trained for five months before I did my first competition, and by the end of my first year, I was British novice champion."

He has gone on to win three world championship medals, clinching bronze in his left arm and silver in his right in 2022 and another silver in 2023.

"Everybody starts somewhere, but whether you start at the bottom rung or you start three rungs up, nobody starts as a champion.

"Don't be afraid to be useless."

From novice runner to Dublin Marathon triumph in just four years, Judith Storm says her remarkable achievement is proof that success can come later.

"It's never too late to start something new," the 39-year-old told BBC Radio Foyle's North West Today programme.

Her journey into running began during the Covid-19 pandemic, turning to exercise after giving birth to triplets.

Just four years ago, she lined up for her first race.

"I didn't really do much exercise until my 30s, so I started off just riding a bike in my garage during the pandemic and then when we later moved to Derry I didn't set up the bike that time and just thought I'll just start running," she said.

Beyond her marathon success, Judith hopes her success will encourage other women, particularly those who have had children, to make time for themselves and discover the benefits of running.

"I have got up early and I have fitted in the training around the kids so it's hard work, but for anybody you know resetting your own limitations is really powerful.

"I have such a busy life and running is just the time I dedicate to me, and I do prioritise it and sometimes as woman we can feel selfish for taking an hour here or there, but I am such a more patient and better mother when I have been out on a run, and my kids can attest that I am like a battle axe if I don't."

She described running as like being in her "flow state" and encouraged others to find something they love and go out and do it.

"Especially as mothers you can sometimes juggle so much, and sometimes you have to give yourself back that time so just start, nothing is impossible."

When people decide to take up a new sport, they typically choose more obvious options such as running or padel.

But Bangor woman Sarah McMillan chose roller derby, a full-contact sport played on skates.

Each team has five skaters consisting of one 'jammer' and four 'blockers'.

The aim is for the jammer to score points by lapping opposing blockers, who in turn try to prevent the opposing jammer from getting past, whilst also helping their own jammer score.

Sarah got into the niche sport in her 30s and is still going strong in her 50s.

Prior to this she had dabbled in sports such as hockey and running.

"I didn't find anything that really excited me," she said.

As the sport grows, people are getting involved from a much younger age. She has played against others where she's jokingly thought "I could have been their grandmother".

However, she thinks there's an advantage to picking up a new sport later in life.

"In the same way that if you are a mature student going to university," she said.

"I think your head is in the right place and you are there because you want to be there."

She has since represented Team Ireland at two Roller Derby World Cups and is hoping to line out at next Autumn's European Roller Derby Cup.

"Give it a go. What have you got to lose? Put yourself out there and try it."

Dr Gavin Breslin, a sport and exercise psychologist at Queen's University Belfast, believes people's experience of sport at a young age can influence activities they pursue in life.

"That stems from our childhood. In terms of making decisions about what activities and behaviours to be involved in," he said.

"If you get rewarded, either verbally or non-verbally, then you're more likely to keep going with that."

But discovering an activity that you enjoy, even at a later stage in life, helps motivate people to continue.

"A key thing here is their competence or actually feeling that they're good at something," he added.

"As a result, they're keeping going with it because their basic psychological need of competence and feeling good that they can actually achieve something is being met."