Age no bar, says Chandigarh's 101-yr-old miracle mom who won 100m sprint

Chandigarh: Age is no bar to realise one's dreams, says 101-year-old Man Kaur who recently won the 100 metres sprint at the World Masters Games in Auckland.

Kaur, who won her first medal in 2007 at the Chandigarh Masters Athletics meet, is now eying to compete in the World Masters Games to be held in Malaysia next year.

Kaur says she took up athletics at the ripe age of 93 years "just for the heck of it" after seeing her son Gurdev Singh, who is now 79 years old, run a race in Patiala.

Winning the medal in Auckland, New Zealand last month, Kaur added the 17th gold medal in her kitty. Kaur clocked one minute 14 seconds as a small crowd cheered her on.

In the run-up to the competition, Kaur left no stone unturned in her preparation doing five sprints of 50m each, one of 100m and one of 200m every alternate day.

Asked if she had thought of taking up athletics early in life, Kaur told PTI: "I never thought of this earlier, I just started running one day for the heck of it only after seeing my son Gurdev run, whom I used to accompany to Patiala.

"I was 93 years old then and just said to myself, let me give it a try and the experience gave me a different joy. I started to run with him, first 100m, then 200m then 400m. When he told me that I am running good, he suggested I take part in competitions," she said.

"I have not looked back since and will continue to run and take part in competitions. It gives me a lot of happiness when I run. I believe that age is no bar to chase and realise your dreams," said Kaur, who is also called as the "Miracle Mom from Chandigarh".

On the occasion of Mother's Day yesterday, Kaur walked the ramp along with 50 others at an event here.

Kaur's son Gurdev Singh and 60-year-old daughter Amrit Kaur were also present. The centenarian also has one more son named Manjit Singh, who is 72 year old.

Asked to share her experience after winning the medal at Auckland, Kaur said, "I got an overwhelming response. Everyone showered their love on me and many used to invite me to their home. They clapped for me for a long time when I won.

"I feel great that I am getting to travel places at this age," she says with a smile.

Her son Gurdev said that Man Kaur also ran a non-stop 3 km long race along with centenarian marathon runner Fauja Singh in Mohali a few years back.

Kaur and her son Gurdev have taken part in dozens of masters athletics meets around the globe. Kaur said that during her childhood she used to accompany the royal family of erstwhile Patiala state in summers to Chail in Himachal Pradesh and tend to their kids and the sick.

"When I was 10 years old, I also used to spin a 'charkha'. Houses used to be 'kutcha' then, we used to work a lot which kept us fit. At the age of 18 years, I got married," she recalled. Kaur also said that she was also famous for preparing delicious food.

"At one time, I used to prepare food for 100 people alone," she said.

Sharing her daily diet, she said, "I take boiled vegetables, wheat bread. I take healthy food, if you take junk food, then how can you run. I avoid fried food." She also had a message for the children and youth that they must adapt healthy habits in life including eating healthy food.

"Look at the children today, many have become so fat, they cannot run or do much work. I tell them to take healthy diet, run and do daily exercise," she said.