I am officially out of excuses to go for a run… Last Sunday, a 90-year-old woman in Italy ran 200m in less than a minute, breaking the world record for her age category.
Emma Maria Mazzenga, a retired chemistry professor from Veneto in northern Italy, finished the 200m indoor race in 54.57 seconds at an event in Padua.
Her run smashed the previous record set by Olga Kotelko from Canada, who held the record for 13 years, by 5.6 seconds.
Footage of her run has gone viral on social media. The race has been shared by several news organisations and has been watched on TikTok at least 20,000 times.
Several people online have shared their support for Mazzenga, commenting how “incredible” and “marvellous” her colossal efforts are.
But she’s not as happy as we would think, she told Vogue Italia after her win – because last yaer, she finished the 200m in less than 50 seconds.
I think we can cut you some slack, Em.
Mazzenga was born in 1933. In an interview with Vogue Italia, she said she began running when she was in university, starting from 1956. During her peak running days as a student, her personal best was placing fourth at a championship run in Rome.
She was married in 1963, not long after she finished her studies, and had two children. Her husband died in the early 1980s, but despite the emotional toll, it did not stop her from running. In fact, nothing ever stopped her from going for a run; even during the COVID-19 lockdown, she told Vogue Italia, Mazzenga would secretly run around her house when it was dark outside.
Now, at 90 years old, every morning she goes for a walk with her friend. Between her walks and runs, she tries to ride her bike when she can.
After her record-breaking run on Sunday, Mazzenga is now eyeing off her next feat. She is looking to compete at the Italy championships in Ancona next month, as well as the European championships in Poland the following month.
“The emotion that a race gives me, the adrenaline that every training session gives me, are the pure energy of my days,” she told Vogue Italia.
Her secret, Mazzenga says, is to never stop.