helloman

Olga Kotelko's super-athletic lifestyle suggests it's possible to improve speed, strength and power later in life


By Jill Barker, Canwest News ServiceApril 23, 2010

Olga Kotelko (shown in 2002) made her W90 champs debut a smashing one.

   

                                                                  






Olga Kotelko works out at the McGill gym. She holds 16 world records in the 90-94 age category. Her events include long jump, triple jump, high jump, shot put, discus, javelin, and runs of 100, 200 and 400 metres.

Photograph by: Pierre Obendrauf, The Gazette




When 91-year old Olga Kotelko walked through the crowd of young men at the McGill gym and started pumping iron, she caused quite a stir. By the time she was on her sixth rep of perfectly executed bench presses, most of the testosterone set had racked their weights and were staring in awe.


Kotelko has that effect on almost everyone she meets. This tiny but determined woman is redefining our expectations about what it means to grow old. The proud owner of 30-plus world records in the 90-94 age category, she has spent the last 13 years training and competing at the masters level in track and field. Her events include long jump, triple jump, high jump, shot put, discus, javelin, weight throw and the 100-metres, 200-metres and 400-metres and 4 x 100-metre relay sprints.


Visiting Montreal from her home in Vancouver, Kotelko was a guest of Tanja Taivassalo, assistant professor in McGill's department of kinesiology and physical education. Just as much in awe of Kotelko as the McGill gym rats, albeit with a more scientific interest, Taivassalo spent several days putting Kotelko through a series of physical tests. The goal is to see what sets her apart from other 91-year-olds who aren't able to bench press 60 lbs., maintain a 140 average at 10-pin bowling or train three times a week at the track and another three days a week in the pool.


"The most precious test is the muscle biopsy," said Taivassalo, who studies mitochondria, the powerhouse of the body's cells.


This tiny piece of tissue, which was extracted from Kotelko's thigh, will shed light on some of the more commonly held theories about what happens to muscle as we age. A decrease in fast twitch muscle fibres is thought to be the reason we lose speed as we get older. And the energy-producing mitochondria are also believed to suffer age-related damage that further diminishes the strength of our muscles.


Of course, a study of one isn't enough to rewrite the theories on aging. But a nonagenarian overperformer like Kotelko doesn't come along every day, so it's important to put her muscle under a microscope and see if exercise actually keeps muscle young.


But it's not just what Kotelko is doing at the age of 91 that makes her special. Her past is also of interest. She was born in 1919 and raised on a farm in Saskatchewan. With the exception of playing some baseball in her youth, Kotelko didn't take up exercise until 1989. Encouraged by her daughter to become active at the local seniors centre in Vancouver, Kotelko tried her hand at yoga, tai chi, aqua fitness and bowling. She also played second-base in a recreational slow pitch league, where she gained local notoriety after turning an impressive double-play at the age of 70.


Her throwing skills along with the ability to run the bases made the move to track and field, at the age of 77, easy. Intrigued by performances she witnessed at local seniors' track and field competitions, Kotelko borrowed some throwing implements from a nearby high school and went to the library to research the necessary technique. She also met up with a couple of coaches and a strength-training specialist who helped hone her skills and build strength and endurance.


This late adoption of an athletic lifestyle suggests that it's possible to improve speed, strength and power later in life. It also suggests that athletics skills don't need to be acquired at an early age. That being said, it takes more than an exceptional physiological profile to go from retired schoolteacher to multiple world record holder. Kotelko also possesses incredible psychological strengths.


Contrary to society's view on aging, Kotelko doesn't see getting older as an excuse to slow down. In fact, she is continually searching for ways to improve her athletic performances. Last year alone she set 30 world records (breaking several of the same records multiple times during the year), 10 Canadian records and brought home 53 gold medals. In total, she has won more than 600 gold medals in provincial, national and international meets. But that's not good enough for her. Two world records remain elusive, the 100-metre sprint and the shot put, and Kotelko is determined to make them her own.


She trains six days a week trying to achieve her goals, alternating between tough track and field workouts with less demanding aqua fitness classes. She has also developed her own stretching routine, which she does daily during competitions and every other day during training.


This type of hard/easy routine agrees with her. Kotelko's noticeably stronger and more agile than most women 20 years her junior. She has no trouble climbing stairs, squats to pick up things, and her balance is spot-on.
A role model for anyone who wonders what life brings after retirement, Kotelko's favourite motto is from an old Chinese proverb that suggests it's not how old we are, but how we get old that counts. Besides, she hasn't got time to dwell on being old. As long as there are world records waiting to be beaten, Kotelko will be out there trying to put her name to them.