Kerala: At an age when many people prefer a quieter life after retirement, 76-year-old Kurian Jacob from Kerala has chosen a very different path — competitive swimming on the international stage.
After spending decades in banking overseas, Jacob returned to India in 2017 at the age of 67. Rather than viewing the move as retirement, he began searching for ways to stay active and eventually rediscovered a passion that had been part of his life since childhood: swimming.
Today, he is an accomplished Masters swimmer with an impressive collection of international medals and an ambitious new target — pursuing a world record in his 75-80 age category at the World Masters Games in Japan.
Swimming Since Childhood, Competing Only After 60
Jacob’s connection with water began long before his competitive career.
Growing up near a river in Kerala, swimming was a natural part of his childhood. However, despite spending much of his life in the water, he had never seriously competed.
That changed in 2019, when college friends encouraged him to participate in a state Masters swimming competition in Thiruvananthapuram.
Jacob won medals at the state event, earning qualification for the national championships in Baroda.
He didn’t win a medal at the nationals, but instead of being discouraged, the experience motivated him to train harder and improve his technique.
It marked the beginning of an unexpected second career.
From Retired Banker to International Athlete
Jacob gradually improved at the national level before deciding to test himself against international competition.
His international journey began in 2023, and the results soon demonstrated just how far he had progressed.
At a Masters competition in Finland in 2023, Jacob won five medals — three silver and two bronze.
But one of his greatest achievements came at the World Masters Games in Taipei, Taiwan, where he produced an extraordinary nine-medal performance.
He returned with:
2 gold medals
3 silver medals
4 bronze medals
Among his most memorable achievements was winning gold in the 3km open-water swimming event, his first open-water race outside India.
Nine Medals at World Masters Games
Jacob’s nine-medal haul in Taiwan represented a major personal milestone and established him as a formidable competitor in Masters swimming.
For someone who had entered his first competitive swimming event only a few years earlier, the transformation was remarkable.
But Jacob isn’t satisfied with simply collecting medals.
His attention has now turned towards an even more difficult objective: trying to get close to — or potentially break — a world record in his age category.
Japan Is the Next Big Target
Jacob is now preparing for the upcoming World Masters Games in Japan, where he expects considerably tougher competition.
His goal is deliberately ambitious.
He acknowledges that breaking the world record will be extremely difficult, but says setting such a high target motivates him to push himself further.
Rather than measuring success exclusively by medals or records, his philosophy centres on improving his own performance.
For Jacob, getting better than he was yesterday is itself a reason to continue.
Swimming Three Kilometres Every Day
Preparing for international competition at 76 requires extraordinary discipline.
Jacob currently trains six days a week and sometimes seven, swimming at least three kilometres each day.
His mornings begin with swimming training following a structured coaching programme.
A fellow swimmer he met during the Taipei competition has helped him identify technical areas for improvement and provides updated training schedules.
Jacob has also launched a social media countdown documenting his journey towards the Japan competition, using the challenge to keep himself motivated throughout the lengthy preparation period.
A New Profession, Not Retirement
Perhaps the most striking part of Jacob’s story is the way he views this chapter of his life.
He doesn’t consider himself retired.
Instead, he regards swimming as his new profession.
That mindset has transformed what could have been a conventional post-career period into a completely new sporting journey involving daily training, international travel and competition against some of the world’s strongest Masters swimmers.
His story challenges the traditional assumption that ambitious sporting goals belong exclusively to younger athletes.
Age Is Not the Finish Line
Jacob’s journey from banking to competitive swimming offers a powerful example of what active ageing can look like.
He did not begin competing seriously as a teenager or even during middle age. His first Masters competition came after he had already completed a long professional career.
Within several years, he progressed from state-level competition to winning medals internationally.
Now, at 76, he is training almost every day with his sights fixed firmly on Japan.
Whether or not the world record ultimately falls, Jacob has already achieved something remarkable: he has turned the years traditionally associated with retirement into the beginning of an entirely new career.
For Kurian Jacob, 76 isn’t an age to slow down — it’s another opportunity to swim faster.