A wise fish named Dory once said, “just keep swimming, just keep swimming.”

Like Dory, one woman has taken that mantra to heart in a way many don’t.

And now, at the age of 99, she has accumulated hundreds of medals – and broke three world records. All after having begun swimming competitively in her mid-sixties.

But for Betty Brussel, every second has been worth it.

“When I swim, I feel so happy,” said Brussel, who lives in British Columbia.

It’s the most relaxing feeling to just glide through the water.”

She broke her most recent record in her age group for the 400-meter freestyle, which she finished in 12 minutes and 50 seconds, beating the previous record by 4 minutes. Since swimming categories are based on birth years, Brussel competes in the 100-to-104 age group.

Brussel racing in a freestyle relay. Photo by Hannah Walsh

She also set records for the 50-meter breaststroke and the 50-meter backstroke. “I felt so good,” she said.

Brussel said that when she was growing up, she had to help care for her 11 siblings. She was a teenager during World War II, so activities like swimming or gymnastics were off limits.

At age 14, Brussel said her parents had to pull her out of school, and for more than three years the family lived with no electricity.

“It was quite a challenge during the war,” she said.

In 1959, Brussel and her husband immigrated to Canada, where they raised three children, now ages 70, 72 and 74.

Retiring in 1982 from cleaning houses and working as a seamstress, Brussels needed something to keep her occupied, she said. So she took up swimming, joining her first competition in 1991.

“I swam one-lane breaststroke, and I did not even do it right,” Brussel remembered. “I started from the ground up.”

But it didn’t take long before she conquered the sport, competing at the Canadian Masters Level which is for people ages 18 and older.

Now a member of the White Rock Wave Swim team, Brussel hasn’t looked back and has competed in tons of contests in Canada, a week as in the United States.

The pool is my happy place,” she said.

The determined swimmer even drives herself to practice, twice a week.

“I am a very independent person,” Brussel said. But that independence doesn’t stop her children, along with her grandchildren, showing up to cheer her on. Sadly, her husband died 11 years ago.

Brussel will be turning 100 this summer and has zero plans on stopping. On days where swimming feels like a chore, she pushes herself to visit the pool anyway.

“I always feel better when I go out of the pool than when I go in,” she said.

Besides, Brussel said, keeping active has helped her age well. On days off of swimming, she said she takes 45-minute-walks.

“I live on the bottom of a hill. I go up slowly, and I go down fast,” she said. “I take no medicine, no pills.”

Outside of the pool, Brussel spends her time knitting and doing needlework, as well as reading and following the news.

Brussel with her coach, Linda Stanley Wilson, at a meet last March. Photo courtesy of Linda Stanley Wilson

Brussel spends her spare time knitting and cross-stitching. She is also a voracious reader and follows current events.

“I’m very fortunate that I’m able to do all this stuff, and I have good health,” Brussel said.

Linda Stanley Wilson, 65, president of White Rock Wave and Brussel’s swim coach, said she has to work to keep up with Brussel.

“She walks with purpose very quickly,” Stanley Wilson said. “Betty doesn’t act like a 99-year-old. She is just full of life, and you forget that’s how old she is.”

When asked what her secret to a long life is, she smiles.

“I am a happy person; I think that’s one of the secrets,” she said.

But even more importantly, Brussel said, “Keep doing stuff.”

Watch this amazing woman below!

Sources: People | Washington Post