Report: Runner, age 101, takes women’s record for age group

BATON ROUGE, La. — A 101-year-old runner from Louisiana who just took up the sport a year ago has set a woman’s world record in the 100-yard dash for her age group, a newspaper reports.

With a time of 39.62 seconds, Julia Hawkins established the record in the 100-yard dash for women 100 and older at this year’s National Senior Games in Birmingham, Alabama, The Advocate reported. She also competed in the 50-yard dash, besting competitors as young as 90 in 18.31 seconds while earning the nickname “Hurricane Hawkins,” according to the paper based in the Louisiana capital of Baton Rouge.

Hawkins began her competitive athletic career at age 75, entering as a bicyclist in national and state senior games. A graduate of Louisiana State University, she had given herself a bicycle as a wedding present when she married her college sweetheart. The couple eventually settled in Baton Rouge, where they raised four children.

To train for her cycling events, the 5-foot-tall (1.52-meter) Hawkins would ride a 6-mile (10-kilometre) course around her neighbourhood every day. She took home a bronze medal at her first National Senior Games, in San Antonio, Texas, before winning gold medals at the games in Tucson, Arizona, and Orlando, Florida. But the 2001 National Senior Games in Baton Rouge signalled the end of her cycling career.