A picture of good health comes in many forms, and 82-year-old competitive master swimmer DeEtte Sauer is living proof of that. Selected twice for the Humana Game Changers—an honor that celebrates athletes’ commitment to healthy aging and their inspiration for people of all ages to get active—Sauer believes being athletic and living a healthy lifestyle is attainable for anyone who wants it.
“I think what people need to know is that it’s important to be intentional about how you age,” Sauer says. “I don’t think there’s any such thing as aging gracefully. You have to be fierce and fight for it because no one escapes aging.”
The Houston resident and Baton Rouge native, who’s ranked No. 1 in the 200-meter butterfly for her age group, has created a fulfilling life. She maintains a healthy diet by cooking all her meals from scratch, has a good relationship with her kids and grandkids, has a strong sense of community with her fellow athletes, and is very active in her church. However, her life wasn’t always so balanced.
Up until her mid-thirties, Sauer was a heavy drinker and smoker, with no interest in her health; she says it was more of an afterthought than a priority. “I grew up in a very unhealthy environment,” Sauer says. “There was no interest in health and everyone drank to excess, and there was never an emphasis on athleticism or physical activity.”
Following a spiritual awakening that helped her quit smoking and drinking, Sauer ended up replacing her vices with a food addiction and started living a sedentary lifestyle. When she turned 46, she weighed more than 250 pounds. While on vacation with her husband and children, she reached another breaking point when her unfitness kept her from joining an activity.
She enrolled at the University of Houston to earn a certification in Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counseling, not to practice as a counselor, but to learn about her own addictions. “I have an incredibly addictive personality, which I was entitled to, given the climate I grew up in, and learning gave me tremendous self-awareness,” Sauer says. “I realized that studying about addiction and health is a lifelong journey.”
After a radical change in her diet and taking up walking every day, Sauer joined a fitness center with her husband, where she got an itch for something more challenging. When she heard about a master’s swim team tryout, she didn’t even know how to swim, but at age 58, went to it anyway.
“I lasted less than a minute and I couldn’t even make it halfway across the pool,” Sauer said. Her pivotal moment was when Stacey Van Horn, a 22-year-old college swimmer and coach, told her not to give up—she would teach her how to swim. Sauer came in second in her very first swim meet.
“She changed my life. I never had any balance or discipline in life, especially around food and drinking, and then all of a sudden I was introducing discipline. And rather than considering it restrictive or punishing in any way, it actually gave me a very purposeful and invigorating life.” Sauer says. “The more intention I put around my daily habits, the more freedom I had.”
Sauer has no plans of slowing down anytime soon. At 82 years young, the Texas Senior Games Hall of Famer will be competing in her 13th National Senior Games this week in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the largest multisport event in the world for men and women over the age of 50. The gold medalist is proudly representing Humana’s team of Game Changers for the second time, and in 2022, she set a record at nationals by winning eight gold medals, which she looks to top this year.
For those who are looking to make any type of healthy change, Sauer thinks it’s important that all parts of our lives are addressed, not just focusing on physical activity, to ensure a well-balanced lifestyle.
“Movement, spirituality, and emotional and social activity are all very important and have to come together,” she says. “You have to put effort in all aspects of your life and make living well a priority.”
