A 99-year-old woman donned her vibrant yellow Nike running shoes and sprinted past a packed crowd at Lee Jackson Field on the ground of the University of Akron. The record breaking great-grandma got all the attention at the Gay Games in Akron, Ohio.
A 99-year-old woman donned her vibrant yellow Nike running shoes and sprinted past the spectators at Lee Jackson Field on the grounds of the University of Akron.
Ida Keeling certainly stood out among her fellow runners. She’s extremely tiny standing 4-feet-6 inches tall. She weighs about 83 pounds.
On Tuesday, she took part in the 100 meter event of the Gay Games and landed a finishing time of 59.8 seconds. She came in last place but judging by the claps, cheers and screams of onlookers, you could easily tell that part didn’t matter.
Keeling certainly didn’t care about coming in the final spot. Even with the less-than-stellar time, Keeling’s daughter, says no one her mom’s age has ever finished in a faster time at an ‘internationally certified 100-meter race’.
Keeling started running competitively in her later years to help with grieving. At the time, she was doing her best to deal with the deaths of her two sons.
Aside from having arthritis, there are no other bodily concerns. Just before starting the race, Keeling remarked “My doctor told me two years straight I'm as healthy as a healthy 20-year-old. Hooray!”
