ALAN Short is not your average 72-year-old.
When he is not setting weightlifting records, Short is winning awards for his best-in-show roses.
The Gwelup resident puts most of the young bucks at his local gym to shame.
He bench-presses 125kg and holds WA, Australian, Oceanic and Commonwealth weight-lifting age-group records.
Short won gold for his age group at the 2010 Oceania Bench Press Championships, held in February in New Zealand.
Three months later, he won all three single-rose awards at the Rose Society of WA’s Autumn Rose Show.
The rose-pruning power lifter said being able to stay active at his age was as much about the mind as it was the body.
“I don’t plan to ever stop training. If you live stronger, you live longer and stay away from the doctor,” he said.
“I actually went to the doctor recently and he couldn’t believe the figures – exactly the same as 10 years ago.
“Prostate, cholesterol, blood sugar – none of it had changed.
“I’d never let age be an issue. It’s about keeping your mind fit and strong just like you’d keep your body strong.”