From: Laute Peter (from Beijing)
Sent: Thursday, February 04, 2009
Subject: Great Grandma Was a Great Runner
February 04, 2009
Great Grandma Was a Great Runner
Mark Remy
Rosario Iglesias has died, at age 98.
If you don't know who Rosario Iglesias is, that's even sadder. (I'll admit that I'd never heard of her, before her death.) Iglesias was a runner. And not just any runner; the resident of Mexico City held world records in five categories: the 85- and 90-and-over class at 400 and 800 meters and the 90-and-over record at 200 meters.
Did we mention that this great-grandmother took up competitive running at age 80?
She got into racing almost accidentally, thanks to her job delivering newspapers. As described in her obituary, via The Associated Press:
Iglesias collected newspapers from distributors and ran though the streets delivering them to subscribers, covering six to seven miles (nine to 11 kilometers) a day. A customer who was also a runner noticed her rushing about at an age when most people have long retired and suggested she enter a race.
She did, she won, and her running career took off.
I think most of us will feel fortunate just to live past age 90, let alone still be running. Let alone be setting, you know, world records. Wow.
MEXICO CITY: Rosario Iglesias, a world-class runner in the 90 years-and-older category, has died in Mexico City. She was 98.
Iglesias died Saturday, according to Mexico's National Sports Commission. It did not give further details, and her family could not be reached for comment Sunday.
The news vendor took up sports at the age of 80 and went on to hold five world records for her age group. In 2004, she carried the Olympic torch before tens of thousands on the featured leg of its passage through Mexico en route to Athens.
"With her example as a fighter, she motivated Mexicans to become active, and she showed through her discipline, commitment and love that it's possible to make dreams come true," the commission said.
Iglesias proved that "barriers don't exist when one sets out to reach a goal in life," the commission added.
Born in Mexico City on Aug. 31, 1910, Iglesias collected newspapers from distributors and ran though the streets delivering them to subscribers, covering six to seven miles (nine to 11 kilometers) a day. A customer who was also a runner noticed her rushing about at an age when most people have long retired and suggested she enter a race.
She did, she won, and her running career took off.
After winning a series of local and national championships at 200, 400, 800 and 1,500 meters, Iglesias began competing abroad. She won races in Japan, South Africa, Barbados, Britain, Australia, Canada, Puerto Rico and the United States.
According to World Masters Athletics, the recognized sanctioning body for senior athletes, Iglesias held world records in five categories — both the 85- and 90-and-over class at 400 and 800 meters and the 90-and-over record at 200 meters (82.29 seconds).
The mother of two, who had 15 grandchildren and 30 great-grandchildren, was known as "Chayito," a nickname often applied to Mexican women named Rosario.
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