Gen Z might’ve spent countless hours in the gym in order to achieve that perfect body, but are certainly nowhere close to this centenarian. 100-year-old Edith Murway-Traina is no less than a living legend. She’s made a Guinness world record for the oldest competitive powerlifter.
When she was young she was a dance instructor and so physical movement was not new to her. The hundred-year-old started her weight-lifting journey when she was 91 years already. She was invited by her friend, Carmen Gutworth, to the local recreation centre in Tampa, Florida. Seeing the other weight lifters lifting weights, she was inspired and lifted a few barbells herself and got hooked to it. From thereon started her journey of weightlifting. She has won multiple trophies and medals in her weightlifting journey. In an interview, she was heard saying that there came a point where she had so many trophies that she was lacking a place in her house to accommodate them.
When asked about what keeps her going at this age also she says, “As a performer and a dancer, the applause was always a very important part of my enjoyment,” she continued. “As long as I could get a little bit of applause, I was happier each time I got more and more applause.” A mother of five (four of whom are still living), grandmother of 11, great-grandmother of 10, and great-great-grandmother of two, Edith is surely setting an example for the generations to be followed.
