Centenarian Sprinter Man Kaur to be Awarded Nari Shakti Puraskar

104- year-old Man Kaur would be conferred with the prestigious Nari Shakti Puraskar 2019 on 8th March, that is, International Women's Day. Her 82-year-old son told that the award will be presented by President Ram Nath Kovind in a ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhawan as per news reports. The Nari Shakti Puraskar is the country's highest civilian honour for women.

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“It is a matter of great pleasure to inform you that you have been selected for the prestigious Nari Shakti Puraskar, 2019, for your exceptional contribution towards women empowerment. The Puraskar carries an honorarium of Rs 2 lakh and a Certificate,” read the letter addressed to Man Kaur from the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development.

The 104-year-old Kaur won her first medal in 2007 at the Chandigarh Masters Athletics meet. She ran in this race “for the heck of it”, as she now recalls. This happened after seeing Gurdev, the eldest of her three children, participate in a race in Patiala. He has participated in the World Masters Game, famed as the Olympics for senior citizens and assists his mother in her athletic pursuits as a coach.

The two live together and participate in global competitions with the help of their life's savings and might have to stop when it runs out. Singh does the cooking, Kaur does the housework, including laundry, and cleaning. The centenarian gained recognition across the globe after winning the 100-meter sprint at the World Masters Games in Auckland in 2017. She also has several world records in her name.

Earlier SheThePeople covered Man Kaur's ambition to compete in the world masters. She is the oldest person in the world to walk along the top of Auckland's Sky Tower and has also won medals in Javelin throw and Shot Put. She has won more than 20 medals in the Masters Games all across the globe and is now eyeing a gold medal at the 2020 Masters Game in Japan. Moreover, she won four golds in track and field events at the World Masters Athletic Championship in Poland. In 2016 she also set a record by becoming the world's fastest 100-year-old at the American Masters Games, Vancouver in 2016. Women and other sprinters around the world know her by the name, "Miracle Mom from Chandigarh". She had earlier expressed how running empowers her, "I will continue to run and take part in competitions as long as I can. It gives me a lot of happiness when I run."

The sprinter granny is very dedicated and wakes up at 4 am every morning for training. She runs a distance of about 20 kilometers every day and trains in the gym. She was once asked the reason behind her fitness at this age, to which she replied,  ''Start the day with a glass of kefir and have chapatis made of sprouted wheat. No fried food.'' As an inspiration, she has been shattering stereotypes and has proved that age is just a number.

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Saavriti is an intern with SheThePeople.TV