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Meet Flo Meiler, the 89-year-old track star breaking barriers

The great-grandmother has 35 world records and seems to know no bounds, participating in events from pole vaulting to long jumping.
Meet Flo Meiler, the 89-year-old track star breaking barriers
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At 89 years old, track and field star Flo Meiler is breaking barriers.

The great-grandmother has 35 world records and seems to know no bounds.

Meiler participates in numerous track and field events and categories, including pole vaulting, high jumping, hurdling, hammer throwing, long jumping, javelin throwing, steeple chasing, sprinting, and distance running, according to Growing Boulder.

Just last month, Meiler was the oldest of 200 athletes to compete at the 2024 USA Track & Field New England and East Region Indoor Masters Championship in Rhode Island, according to The Female Quotient.

While she’s been active throughout her life, track and field isn’t something Meiler’s been doing since she was young. She took up the sport at 60 and has won over 1,040 medals in track and field since, the FQ says.

It all started with a push from a friend, with whom she used to train and play tennis.

"My friend, Barbara Jordan, pleaded with me to join the masters track team and compete in the Vermont State Senior Games with her," she told Growing Boulder. "I had no idea that it would change my life."

Staying true to her life motto, shared by the FQ, Meiler is an inspiration to all, old and young: "Motivation is what gets you started; habit is what keeps you going."


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