Flo Meiler of Shelburne, Vermont, holds world records in the pole vault and triple jump. She is 91 years old. She didn’t grow up doing this. She started competing in track and field at 60, after her friend Barbara Jordan encouraged her to try the long jump at the Vermont Senior Games. One jump was all it took. Barbara passed away about a decade ago, and Flo keeps competing in her memory. Her home is filled with medals, most of them gold.
These days Flo admits she misses jumping the way she used to, but she still loves the sport. Her approach to slowing down is simple: when she notices it happening, she adds exercises. She has inspired a University of Vermont freshman named Jason Lei, who told her he wants to be moving like her when he’s older, along with her husband Gene, who has been by her side for 65 years.
If you’ve ever thought it was too late to start something new, this story makes that excuse harder to use. Plenty of people on the Suncoast stay active well into their retirement years, and Flo is proof of how far that can go. What hobby or sport have you started later in life? Share your story with us and we might feature it on air.
