
What’s your 100-meter sprint time? If it’s over 23.8 seconds, then you’re slower than a 90-year-old. Last month, Japan’s Turbo Granny smashed the Japanese record for her age category and now has her sights set on the world record.
The record-breaking race took place at the 30th Kyushu Masters Athletics Championship Series held on July 28 at Kagoshima Athletics Stadium. Running in the “90 years and over” category of the women’s 100 meters, Mitsu Morita of Yatsushiro City, Kumamoto Prefecture, smashed the previous Japanese record of 50.9 seconds by completing the race in an incredible 23.8 seconds.
As well as her physical fitness, Mitsu certainly doesn’t seem to be lacking in competitiveness and determination. After winning, she said, “It’s a shame because I was down to 21 seconds in practice. Next I want to beat the world record of 23.18 seconds”. What an inspiring woman.
Actually, Mitsu already has a string of world records under her belt. In 2003, she broke the world record for the 200 meters 80-84 category with a time of 40.78 seconds. In 2005, she was in the 85-89 age category, sprinting her way to records in the 100 meters (19.83 seconds) and 200 meters (45.65 seconds).