Japanese equestrian Hiroshi Hoketsu, who looks set to be the oldest competitor at the London Olympics, says at 70 he feels as fit as ever and fancies his chances of success at this year’s Games.

Hoketsu, who was the oldest Olympian in Beijing in 2008, says his fitness regime is not so arduous, with about 40 minutes of muscle training every day accompanied by vitamins and immune-boosting supplements.

According to Time, after winning an international dressage competition in France last week, Hoketsu qualified for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

“This time, I am very pleased to have qualified,” Hoketsu told the Associated Press.

He also competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where he finished 35th in the individual competition and ninth in the dressage team event.

His 15-year-old horse, Whisper, was diagnosed with tendonitis and Hoketsu said he hopes it won’t interefere with the competition. Time reports that he planned on giving up altogether until a veterinarian helped stabalize Whisper’s condition.

It wasn’t until January that the pair was able to compete again.

Because of the horse’s condition, he thought that it would be impossible to make it to London so, he said, this is “a miracle.”

In the 1964 Olympics Hoketsu finished 40th in show jumping in his home city of Tokyo and in 2008 he was the oldest competitor at the Beijing games.