WEBVTT - The Miracle from Chandigarh

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<v Speaker 1>Most of us, if we're lucky, we'll get to our

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<v Speaker 1>nineties and think maybe it's time for a sit down.

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<v Speaker 1>Not mar Kore. She'd never been an athlete, but in

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<v Speaker 1>two thousand and nine, aged ninety three, she decided to

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<v Speaker 1>take up running. Hey, I'm Tony Armstrong. Welcome to the

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<v Speaker 1>ballroom where we celebrate the winners, losers and the weird

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<v Speaker 1>stuff between. Man Kor might have had a late entry

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<v Speaker 1>to athletics, but it was clear from a young age

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<v Speaker 1>how driven and spirited she was. Her mother died in

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<v Speaker 1>childbirth and she was raised by her grandparents im Patiala

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<v Speaker 1>in the northwest of India. They tried to send her

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<v Speaker 1>to school, but she wasn't having it. Marn was an entrepreneur.

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<v Speaker 1>She earned money weaving drawstrings for pajamas, milling wheat by hand,

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<v Speaker 1>and spinning thread. Then in her twenties, she became a

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<v Speaker 1>nanny and maid in the Royal Palace, where she served

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<v Speaker 1>one of the Maharaja's three hundred and sixty queens before

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<v Speaker 1>having three children of her own. One of those three

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<v Speaker 1>kids was the son Gerdev Singh. He was a longtime

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<v Speaker 1>track and field athlete with more than eighty medals to

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<v Speaker 1>his name. As Marn got older, Gerdev urged her to

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<v Speaker 1>join him on the track. He said it was mostly

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<v Speaker 1>on a whim, but he also wanted to help keep

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<v Speaker 1>her fit. What he maybe didn't expect was her drive

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<v Speaker 1>to become well a world champion. Gerdev took Marn to

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<v Speaker 1>the university track where he trained and asked her to

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<v Speaker 1>run four hundred meters. She did slowly but confidently, and

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<v Speaker 1>she enjoyed it. They went back a second time and

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<v Speaker 1>ran a bit harder and faster. Marn quickly improved, and

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<v Speaker 1>her son made a wild suggestion what if she joined

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<v Speaker 1>him at his international events. She didn't need to be

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<v Speaker 1>asked twice. Marn's late in life athletics career had begun.

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<v Speaker 1>She claimed her first hardware in two thousand and seven

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<v Speaker 1>at the Chundaga Masters in India, which she said she

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<v Speaker 1>did for the heck of it. It was her first

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<v Speaker 1>medal of many. Gerdev took on the role of Man's coach,

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<v Speaker 1>and mother and son packed their gear to travel the globe,

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<v Speaker 1>competing in dozens of Masters athletics events. In twenty sixteen,

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<v Speaker 1>at age one hundred, Man ran the one hundred meters

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<v Speaker 1>dash at the American Masters Games in Vancouver, finishing in

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<v Speaker 1>one minute and twenty seven seconds to take the gold.

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<v Speaker 1>The next year, she broke her own world record in

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<v Speaker 1>New Zealand. Her competitors, much younger women only in their

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<v Speaker 1>seventies and eighties, cheered from the finish line. Marn was

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<v Speaker 1>officially the world's fastest centenarian, but running wasn't her only event.

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<v Speaker 1>In twenty nineteen in Poland, she won four events in

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<v Speaker 1>her age category, the sixty meter sprint, two hundred meters sprint,

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<v Speaker 1>shot put and javelin. Just a reminder, she was one

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<v Speaker 1>hundred and three years old at the time. Marn was

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<v Speaker 1>an inspiration, encouraging other old ladies, as she put it,

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<v Speaker 1>to take up running and to make their children part

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<v Speaker 1>of the adventure like she had. Marn and Gerdev were

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<v Speaker 1>invited to share their achievements with UNI students. It wasn't hard,

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<v Speaker 1>she told them, just a simple diet with plenty of

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<v Speaker 1>nuts and homegrown soy milk, plus a twenty kilometer run

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<v Speaker 1>every morning. Easy. Speaking of Gerdev, it's probably also important

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<v Speaker 1>to remember that he was as well as her coach

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<v Speaker 1>and a decorated athlete in his eighties. While this was happening,

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<v Speaker 1>a casual run around a university track had become a

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<v Speaker 1>family tradition. Mancore died in twenty twenty one. She was

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<v Speaker 1>one hundred and five years old and for more than

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<v Speaker 1>a decade she proved that age was no barrier. They

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<v Speaker 1>called her the Miracle from Chundagar and she was. Man calls, drive,

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<v Speaker 1>tenacity and fearlessness earned her the Narri Shakti Perrasca Award

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<v Speaker 1>for Women's Empowerment, the highest honor for a civilian in

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<v Speaker 1>India and a permanent place in the nation's heart. You've

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<v Speaker 1>been listening to an iHeart production the pool room with me,

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<v Speaker 1>Tony Armstrong. Catch you next time.