This 103-Year-Old Grandmother of 3 Just Won a Gold Medal in the 100-Meter Dash

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Julia "Hurricane" Hawkins didn't act on her desire to start running until she was 100 years old. Now, at 103, she's breaking records despite her late start. Earlier this week, Hawkins competed in the 2019 Senior Games in Albuquerque, NM, where she won two gold medals in the 50- and 100-meter dashes in the women's 100-plus division. Per Good Morning America's reports, she didn't beat the record she previously set at the 2017 games, but her victory this year is still pretty dang impressive.

"I'm thrilled I did as well as I did, but I didn't do as well as I have done," she told GMA. "I don't know if it's because I'm older, or maybe it was the atmosphere." Hawkins is the oldest female competitor in the United States, according to the National Senior Games Association. The Louisiana native is a former competitive cyclist who took up running as her hobby of choice when the former became too challenging. "I thought it'd be neat to run at 100 and do the 100-yard dash," she said. Looks like her optimism paid off!

Hawkins is a mother of four, a grandmother of three, and a great-grandmother of three. She hopes her story will inspire other seniors to run as well. "I hope I'm inspiring them to be healthy and to realize you can still be doing it at this kind of an age if you keep yourself busy and active most of your life," she said.