Stanislaw Kowalski, 104-Year-Old Runner, Breaks Record For 100-Meter Dash In Europe
There’s a 104-year-old out there who’s been making his way around a track with relative ease. Stanislaw Kowalski, a Polish centenarian, was born in 1910 and ran a 100-meter dash race in 2014, becoming the oldest man in Europe to beat that distance in the short time of 32.79 seconds.
Kowalski conquered the record that had been set by a 96-year-old in the men’s 100-meter Centenarians Race at Wroclaw Stadium. Kowalski’s own previous time had been 34 seconds, so he was able to shave off nearly 2 seconds in the race.
“I feel like a new man,” Kowalski, who is from Swidnica in Poland, told Yahoo 7 after the race. When it comes to health advice, Kowalski is simple: he owes his strength and good health to doing “everything I want” and “never going to the doctors.” Of course, take those words with a grain of salt. But his other advice may be quite helpful. “Do not overfeed and do not eat at night,” he told Yahoo 7. “Sometimes you can drink 50 grams, but not every day.”
Surprisingly, there are several centenarians who have achieved incredible things at their ripe old age. Fauja Singh is the world’s oldest marathon runner, who completed a 26-mile race in Canada at the age of 100. Singh did not start running until he was 89, but has stuck to a life without alcohol and smoking, a vegetarian diet, and plenty of curries, tea, and exercise. “I have said it before: that I will carry on running, as it is keeping me alive,” he said.