US man Lester Wright is defying Father Time.
The 100-year-old smashed the 100-metre sprint record for his age group at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia last Saturday (local time).
He ran 100 metres in 26.34 seconds, shattering the 100-104 age USATF Masters World Record previously set by Donald Pellmann in 2015 at 26.99 seconds.
“It was pretty nice to be able to do this at age 100,” Lester told the Asbury Park Press. “When I came here, I was a little bit nervous, but when I saw the crowd and everything, I fell right in with it.”
The centenarian had only marked his 100th birthday the day before he was warmly applauded for his run by the 38,000 crowd.
His race included runners aged 80 and beyond, and was won by 84-year-old Bob Williamson.
Lester still runs at least three times a week, 1.5km at a time.
Asked what he thought of his performance, Lester quipped, “Slow.”
“At 100 metres, I feel like I’m just getting started,” he added. “I thought this was nice, but I wanted a longer race.”
Good on you, Lester!
