THERE'S plenty of healthy ageing going on around the world - such as a new soccer league in Japan exclusively for octogenarians.
The fledgling over-80 division of Tokyo's "Soccer For Life" league played its first round of matches earlier this month.
Demographers say it's clear evidence of the ever-rising life expectancy in Japan, where people aged 65 and higher comprise almost a third of the 126 million-strong population.
One of the players, 93-year-old goalie Shingo Shiozawa, attributes his long life to playing the game.
"If I hadn't played soccer, I'd have been dead by now," he said, noting that the sport had motivated him to quit smoking and also aided in his recovery from spinal issues.
The league plays under special rules including 15-minute halves to allow the elderly players to catch their breath - but they also celebrate after each match with a traditional can of beer.
MEANWHILE there comes a new world record which was set in California last week, where a group of 101 skydivers aged over 60 gathered for some mid-air antics which have now been submitted to Guinness World Records.
The appropriately-named Skydivers over Sixty group successfully created a so-called "snowflake" formation on their fourth attempt, eclipsing a previous 2018 record set by 75 sixty-plus skydivers in Illinois.
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