Rod Stewart sets sights on sprinting world record aged 80

Sir Rod Stewart is hoping to break the sprinting world record for men aged 80 and over.

The rock star celebrated his 80th birthday in January and wants to train himself to run 100 metres in less than 14 seconds, which stands as the current record for people in his age bracket.

Stewart described his progress and the extreme lengths he has gone to in order to work towards the goal, including having a sprint track installed on the grounds of his grade-II listed mansion.

“I can do it in 19 seconds and the record for an 80-year-old is 14 seconds. I’ll never get it to that. But I’m trying,” he said in an interview with Radio Times.

The singer has dedicated himself to an intense training schedule after turning 80 in January.

“There’s all the little techniques — where you put your arms and where they finish,” he explained. “How high you can get your heels to your bum. They could knock a second off. I’m working on that.”

He has also mentioned how he has been “learning how to push off” from the starting line more effectively to save seconds.

But fitness and exercise is not new to the musician: “I don’t wait until I start touring.”

The world record for over 80s stands at 14.21 seconds, and is held by Kenton Brown, who secured the title at the Nevada Senior games in Las Vegas in October 2024. The overall record is held by Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt, who secured a speed of 9.58 seconds at the World Championships in Berlin in 2009.

Stewart told AARP last month that the intention behind the mission is to “to stay in shape and feed my competitive appetite”.

Stewart’s unexpected challenge to himself comes after he revealed his unusual pre-show ritual. He revealed he always gargles a swig of rum and coke before going on stage and has maintained the pre-show ritual for the past 40 years.

The singer, who is set to play the Legends Slot on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury Festival this June, said he doesn’t drink the beverage on any other occasion.

He told Radio Times: “The vocal cords need a lot of looking after. I mean, they’re absolute gold.”

Back in May, Stewart was spotted wearing a sign around his neck that read, “Sorry. Cannot talk. Having vocal rest,” while on holiday in Italy with his wife, Penny Lancaster, 54.