Her name is Suzannah Wish. She was born on August 17, 1940, and she lives in Osoyoos, a small lakeside town in British Columbia, Canada.
Around 2020. A doctor’s office.
The doctor places his hand on her back and gives her a diagnosis. She has a dowager’s hump, a curve at the base of the neck.
It can bring pain. It can steal mobility. For a woman approaching 80, it sounds like the start of a slow decline.
But the doctor offers one piece of advice. Join a gym. Work on your health.
Suzannah takes it seriously.
She is no stranger to movement. Back in the 1970s, she stretched, walked, swam, danced and skied. She was always health-conscious, even serving her children brewer’s yeast pancakes. They still tease her about them.
Now, at nearly 80, she walks into a gym and starts again.
The turning point.
Her daughter shows her an exercise that looks simple and feels brutal. The plank.
You hold your body straight, propped on your forearms and toes, and you do not move. Most adults quit after 60 seconds. Many cannot reach 30.
Suzannah adds it to her routine. Day after day. Month after month.
The minutes start to climb. Two minutes. Five minutes. Ten.
She tells Guinness World Records: “Eventually I was able to achieve close to 30 minutes.”
Thirty minutes. In her late 70s and early 80s. That is longer than a whole TV episode, frozen in one position.
Here’s what makes it worse: none of it counts.
During those long practice holds, her lower back aches. So every so often, she drops into a quick yoga stretch called downward dog for a few seconds of relief. Then she goes back down.
Under official record rules, that breaks the plank. A record hold must be one continuous position. Body straight. No pauses. No rescues. Every one of those 30-minute sessions would be thrown out.
She has the strength. She just does not know there is anything to aim for.
Then comes Pierre.
Pierre Forand is one of her gym mates. He watches her hold position after position and sees something she does not.
He thinks she could hold a world record.
The two of them run a quick online search. The answer is right there. Guinness World Records has a title for the oldest woman to perform an abdominal plank. The rules require a perfect hold of at least 3 minutes.
And the current holder is no pushover.
April 2025.
Guinness announces a new champion. Sarah Blackman, a grandmother from Massachusetts, USA, sets the record at 82 years and 229 days old. She holds her plank for more than 5 minutes. She only needed 3.
Suzannah is older. But she has to do it perfectly, with witnesses, under strict rules, with no downward dog breaks at all.
With her family and Pierre behind her, she decides to go for it.
June 9, 2025. Osoyoos, British Columbia.
The setting is not a stadium. It is her own home.
A yoga mat is spread out on the floor. Around it gather friends, family members, official witnesses, timekeepers, doctors and gym buddies. Even a dog is there.
Suzannah is 84 years and 296 days old. She wears a pale pink top and flowery leggings.
Someone says “go.”
She lifts herself into position. Back flat. Arms bent at a firm 90 degrees.
One minute.
The room is quiet except for encouragement. Her form is perfect.
Three minutes.
She has reached the official minimum. But she does not stop. She wants more than the title.
Five minutes.
Her muscles begin to shake. Tremors of exhaustion run through her arms. Her lower back, the same one that once forced her into downward dog, is screaming for a break.
She cannot take one. Not today.
The cheering grows louder. Her family leans in. Pierre watches the clock.
Seven minutes.
The timer finally stops at 7 minutes and 2 seconds. That beats Sarah Blackman’s time by well over a minute.
Suzannah collapses onto the mat. Her whole body shakes with relief and joy. She slaps the mat with her hand and laughs as her loved ones rush in to hug her.
She is now the oldest woman ever recorded by Guinness performing an abdominal plank.
April 9, 2026.
Guinness World Records shares her story with the world.
Suzannah tells them she feels blessed and grateful to be competing for a title at her age. She also says what makes it sweeter: she did it without the dowager’s hump that started her journey.
Think about where this story began. Not with a dream of fame. With a doctor’s warning and a simple choice to listen.
Nearly 6 years later, that choice led to a world record.
Most of us assume our bodies only go one direction after a certain age. Suzannah decided to find out for herself. She did not need to be young. She needed to start, keep showing up, and let the people around her believe in her.
Her daughter gave her the exercise. Pierre gave her the goal. Her family gave her the courage.
She gave the rest.
Who is the oldest person you know who still surprises you? Tell us in the comments.
Someone who needs to know, it is never too late to start, and the body you have today can still surprise you.
