Ida Keeling


Ida Keeling is a Caribbean American centenarian track and field athlete. Trained by her daughter Cheryl Keeling, herself a World Record holder, Ida holds Masters records in 60 meter and 100 meter distances for women in the 95-99 and 100-plus age groups. Her story was featured in a segment in the Carl Reiner-hosted documentary If You're Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast, on aging over 90, which premiered on HBO in June 2017.

Records

In 2011, at 95 years old, Keeling set the world record in her age group for running 60 meters at 29.86 seconds at a track meet in Manhattan, and in 2012 she set the W95 American record at the USATF Eastern Regional Conference Championships at 51.85. In 2014, at the 2014 Gay Games, Keeling set the fastest known time by a 99-year-old woman for the 100-meter dash at 59.80 seconds, although the relevant USA Track & Field webpage does not currently include a 100-meter record for US women older than the 90–94 age division. On April 30, 2016, Ida became the first woman in history to complete a 100-meter run at the age of 100. Her time of 1:17.33 was witnessed by a crowd of 44,469 at the 2016 Penn Relays.

Personal life

Keeling is a longtime resident of New York. Her mother died when Ida was young and her husband died of a heart attack when she was 42. She had four children, two of whom, Charles and Donald, died in drug-related killings in 1978 and 1980 respectively. Her eldest daughter, Laura, worked as the CEO of two Urban League affiliates. Her youngest daughter, Shelley, is a lawyer and real estate investor who also coached for a local high school. Shelley also coached her mother and first convinced her to run in a "mini-run" at the age of 67.