Staying on the move never stops, especially not for Santa Barbara athlete and physical therapist Arlette Godges. The 61-year-old from Zurich, Switzerland, was named a 2025 Senior Planet Sponsored Athlete, where she has already taught a live session and will be writing articles and offering advice to seniors looking to stay on the move. Godges is a lifelong athlete and a five-time Masters Swimming world record holder, and also a physical therapist with a practice in Santa Barbara. Now, she’s extending her work to an even wider global audience through Senior Planet.
“It has been an honor to be chosen because I think it’s important to bring research-based and motivational wellness to people,” said Godges about her goals through Senior Planet. “It’s crucial that people keep moving. It’s crucial for their physical health and their mental health.”
As a whole, Senior Planet is a nonprofit that offers training and resources for seniors across five key areas. The Senior Planet Sponsored Athletes are a small team of ambassadors who are chosen to inspire seniors across the country to prioritize healthy habits. Godges’s recognition as one of these ambassadors is a reflection of her lifetime commitment to exercise, sports, and movement, both in her own lifestyle and in her job working with others.
Her start in sports came at a young age in Zurich. When a pool was built near her home, she gravitated towards swimming and eventually attended UCSB for undergrad, where she swam on the D1 team. Godges’s shift to physical therapy came after a debilitating accident — she broke both arms before the 1984 Olympics and had to take a step back from sports. Her time working with a physical therapist inspired her to make the career path shift…