Standing on the edge of a platform with water rippling below, 100-year-old Iranian diver Tajy Askari prepared to dive as he had done many times before.

The Iranian won silver and bronze medals at the very first Asian Games in 1951, and Askari never lost his passion for the sport. Fast forward to 2024, and his exhibition at the 2024 World Championships in Doha on Friday was two weeks before the Masters World Aquatics Championships where he will be the oldest competitor.

Askari told World Aquatics, "For me, I have loved diving since I was a teenager until today. I have always loved diving, nothing has changed between 1951 and now, except my performance!"

Askari first encountered diving at a swimming pool near his childhood home in Iran where other children were flipping in the water. That ignited a lifelong love for diving for him, and he continued to win medals at the Asian Games and national titles.

He said, "When I competed at the national level, the last championship I participated in was when I was 41 years old," "I won a gold medal at the national level, and after that I said goodbye to the sport, but at least with a gold medal."

At the time Askari started diving, the sport changed dramatically.

He said, "By the time the games were held in Tehran in 1974, Chinese swimmers had entered this beautiful sport and started improving significantly—we couldn’t catch up with them as we stayed at the same level we started with."

The Iranian will be among the competitors at the Masters World Aquatics Championships, a competition held shortly after the open elite World Championships for participants over 25 years old.