Abstract
Carol LaFayette-Boyd is one of Canada’s rising athletics stars. Notably, LaFayette-Boyd is “rising” to exceptional athletic status at the age of 77 years. Setting a new world age-group record in the W75 200-meter race at the 2019 Canadian Masters Indoor Championships in Edmonton, the Saskatchewan native added to her plethora of age-matched world records and international gold medals, and her title of World Masters Athletics’ 2018 Female Athlete of the Year. LaFayette-Boyd began competing in Masters track and field at age 50, returning to competition after having participated in track and field and basketball in high school. She attributes her athletic success to eating a balanced diet, sleeping well, and stretching, and says that she feels healthier at age 75 than she did at 35. Finally, consider this – the earliest officially recognized world record for the women’s 100-meter race occurred in 1922: 13.6 seconds by Czechoslovakia’s (now Czech Republic and Slovakia) Marie Mejzlíková II at 19 years of age. Carol LaFayette-Boyd’s personal best 100-meter race time is 13.75s at age 60! While LaFayette-Boyd’s feats are spectacular on their own, she is part of a growing number of Masters athletes forcing us to consider new frontiers in human performance.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Specialist publication | Sport Information Resource Centre (SIRC) |
| Publication status | Published - 31 Mar 2020 |