Tuesday 19 August 2014

99-Year-Old Sprinter Sets World Record: “I’m Running From Old Age…”

Very inspiring story that touches the heart.....
Even though Ida Keeling came in last place in the 100 meter race on August 12th, 2014, she took first place in the record books. The 99-year-old great-great-grandmother from New York finished the 100-meter race Tuesday with a time of 59.8 seconds, becoming the first woman in the 95-99 age group to have completed the event in an internationally certified race, according to her daughter, Shelley Keeling.

(In June 2012, Ida, then 97, ran the 100-meter in 51.85 at the USA Track and Field East Regional Championships.)

Ida, standing 4 feet 6 and weighing 83 pounds, started competitive running at age 67 to help deal with grief over losing her two sons from drug-related homicides.

How To Live To 100 Years Old (And Longer!)

"I was so depressed, and my daughter wanted to take me on a mini run," Keeling said before the race (via the Akron Beacon Journal). "After it was finished, I felt relaxed and relieved."

"She was sinking deeper and deeper," Shelley said (via the Akron Beacon Journal). "I said, 'Mama, you had four kids, but I only have one mother. You're coming out with me.' I wasn't sure if it would work, but I knew I had to try something."

Keeling lives by herself in a studio apartment and uses the gym twice a week in addition to running and yoga, according to the Akron Beacon Journal. Shelley, 63, is a real estate investor who coaches track at Fieldston School in the Bronx.



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