Barbara Prymakowska has always been into physical fitness, but she seems to be getting even spryer and faster as she gets older!
The Polish grandmother is 78, but you’d never know it from looking at her – or from examining her impressive array of medals earned at marathons all over the world.
Barbara has completed all of the world’s major marathons, including Tokyo, Boston, Chicago, Berlin, London, and New York. Before retiring, she was a physical education teacher, but she didn’t run her first road race until she was 58 and looking for a new challenge!
Over the past two decades, Barbara has achieved so much! She’s climbed Mont Blanc, which at 15,774 feet above sea level, is the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe. She has also competed in skiing events all over Europe.
Recently, she earned the title of “fastest granny in the world” after running 7.8 kilometers (about 4.84 miles) from Zakopane, Poland, to the peak of Kasprowy Wierch in Tatra in just an hour and 45 minutes!
You read that right. She ran 1,987 meters (or 6,519 feet) straight up a mountain in less time than it takes to watch a movie.
“I was most afraid of snow but fortunately there was none. Last year the storm was such that the caps were blown off our heads,” Barbara said at the top of the mountain. “Now the weather was perfect. It is true that I was running on one lung but with a smile on my face and the joy when I reached the finish line was huge.”
Believe it or not, this is the 10th time she’s taken on this towering peak! Her big win came on the heels of another major accomplishment: She recently won the gold medal in the “over 75” category of the Schlickeralmlauf/20th World Masters Mountain Running Championships.
Seems like winning just comes naturally for this athlete! She’s certainly not going to let a little thing like growing older stop her from setting records.
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