90-year-old Japanese bodybuilder wins national title

At an age when most people have long settled into retirement, Toshisuke Kanazawa is still stepping onto the bodybuilding stage – and winning.

The 90-year-old Japanese bodybuilder recently claimed the Japan Masters Bodybuilding Championship in the 85-and-over category, defeating seven other competitors to secure his 19th national title. Just a day before his latest victory, Kanazawa celebrated his 90th birthday.

Based in Hiroshima, Kanazawa has spent decades dedicated to fitness and bodybuilding. His remarkable career has also seen him share the stage with some of the sport’s biggest names, including Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sergio Oliva.

Born in Shimane Prefecture in 1936, Kanazawa was initially focused on swimming. As a high school student, he excelled in the 1,500-metre freestyle and dreamed of representing Japan at the Olympics. However, a muscular problem ended those ambitions and led him to pursue bodybuilding instead.

“My mother was sceptical but supportive, but my father was dead against it – he thought young men should work,” Kanazawa told The Guardian. “I told them I wanted to be the best in Japan but would need a few years to achieve that.”

Kanazawa then devoted himself almost entirely to training, sometimes working out for as long as six hours a day. Rather than following an elaborate diet, he relied largely on simple meals prepared by his mother.

At 24, he won his first Mister Japan title, fulfilling the promise he had made to his parents. Three years later, he won the title again.

His success eventually took him onto the international bodybuilding stage. In 1967, Kanazawa competed in the Mr Universe competition in Montreal alongside Schwarzenegger and Oliva. He finished fourth, while Oliva won the event.

Kanazawa, however, did not walk away from bodybuilding forever. He retired from competitive bodybuilding in his mid-30s but returned to the sport at the age of 50. His comeback was partly inspired by his desire to encourage his wife, who suffered from chronic illness.

“My wife had always supported me but she was often sick,” he said. “I saw how I had let myself go since retiring, so I wanted to show her that anything was possible.”

Seven years after returning to competition, Kanazawa won a masters bodybuilding championship. He went on to win six World Masters titles after turning 80, adding to a career that has now stretched across several decades.

“I used to have six protein shakes a day but now I have three. As I get older, it’s harder to stomach that much liquid,” he said.

Today, he trains for around two hours a day, six days a week, at his gym in Hiroshima. He also makes sure to allow more time for recovery and aims for around seven hours of sleep each night.