The New York Times has reported that American masters sprint sensation Julia “Hurricane” Hawkins died on Tuesday at age 108. Hawkins, a record-setting centenarian runner, became an icon in the masters track-and-field world, having taken up competitive running after turning 100.
Hawkins made headlines in 2017 when she clocked 30.62 seconds in the 100m, setting a world record in the women’s 100+ division at the U.S. National Senior Games. Four years later, she made history again by running another 100m world record, this time in the women-over-105 category. She completed the race in 1 minute, 2.95 seconds at the 2021 Louisiana Senior Games, becoming the first American woman to set a masters running world record in the 105+ age bracket.
Born in 1916, Hawkins did not start running competitively until 2016, when her sons signed her up for a 50-metre dash during the Louisiana Senior Olympic Games. According to her obituary in The New York Times, it was her first track-and-field event, and she finished the race in 19 seconds. She placed first in her age group—unsurprisingly, as she was the only competitor over 100 years old. This race ignited a passion that led Hawkins to compete in many masters events across the country over the next few years, setting multiple records in the 100m.
Before taking up running, Hawkins had been an avid cyclist in her 60s and 70s. But it was her switch to sprinting that made her an international masters running star. When Hawkins was asked how she did it, she pointed to her vigorous training regimen, which included maneuvering around her garden.
Her story is similar to another master running legend, Japan’s Hidekichi Miyazaki, who set the men’s 105+ 100-metre record in 2015 with a time of 42.44 seconds. Like Hawkins, Miyazaki was 108 when he died in 2019. Both athletes demonstrated the spirit of competition, proving that, when it comes to pursuing new challenges later in life, age is just a number.
