It’s never too late to try something new, and Florence Meiler is proving that age is just a number. The 91-year-old track star is still breaking records.
Meiler, a resident of Vermont, is making history on the track more than three decades after she first took up track and field at age 60. Today, Meiler holds multiple world records in her age group, including in the 2,000-meter steeplechase, 80-meter hurdles, pole vault, high jump, triple jump and pentathlon, according to World Masters Athletics.
But Meiler’s journey into competitive athletics started with a little encouragement from a friend.
How It All Began
More than three decades ago, Meiler was convinced to give track and field a try by her dear friend Barbara Jordan.
Jordan convinced her to try track and field in 1995. The two quickly became training partners, spending the next 20 years pushing one another and competing together.
“Training together was fantastic because we would challenge each other and we would criticize each other,” Meiler said in a 2020 profile for the Olympic Channel.
Their partnership eventually came to an end after Jordan was diagnosed with cancer. She died in 2020 at age 85, following a five-year battle with the disease.
Meiler still thinks about her friend as she continues to compete.
“I miss her so much,” she told Aging Untold in a recent interview, per People.
No Slowing Down
Training without Jordan hasn’t always been easy for Meiler, who admitted that doing it alone can be a struggle. However, she continues to draw motivation from the friend who first introduced her to the sport.
“It’s really a struggle for me to train by myself. It is a real struggle, but I have a determination, and I put Barb into my mind, and I’ve got to do this for Barb and I’ve got to do this for the state of Vermont,” she said in the Olympic Channel profile.
That determination has certainly paid off. Competing in the 90 to 94 age category, Meiler has continued to set records across multiple events, including becoming a world-record holder in the pole vault and triple jump.
Beyond her own accomplishments, Meiler has become an inspiration to athletes of all ages. She told Aging Untold that hearing from people who say she’s motivated them means a great deal.
“I really feel really warm inside because I’ve had so many athletes come up to me and say, ‘What an inspiration you have been to me.’ That’s a wonderful feeling,” she said.
And when it comes to encouraging others to pursue their own goals, Meiler keeps her advice simple.
In a previous interview with the Olympic Channel, she shared her personal motto: “Never too late.”
Watch: 91-Year-Old Track Star Breaks World Records in Hurdles, Pole Vault & Steeplechase