Man Kaur (1 March 1916 – 31 July 2021) was an Indian

track-and-field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping event ...

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

. She holds the world records in the Over-100 years old categories for a variety of events. At the age of 103, she was given the

Nari Shakti Puraskar The Nari Shakti Puraskar is an annual award given by the Ministry of Women and Child Development of the Government of India to individual women or to institutions that work towards the cause of women empowerment. It is the highest civilian hono ...

award by the President of India.

Life

Man Kaur's height was about five feet (150 cm) and she was a native Punjabi speaker. She won multiple gold medals at the

World Masters Athletics Championships The World Masters Athletics Championships are the biennial championships for masters athletics events held under the auspices of World Masters Athletics, formerly called the World Association of Veteran Athletes, for athletes 35 years of age or o ...

. She did not start to pursue athletics until she was 93. In 2016 she became the fastest centenarian at a competition in the American Masters Games. In anticipation of the 2017

World Masters Games The World Masters Games is an international multi-sport event held every four years which, in terms of competitor numbers, has developed into the largest of its kind. Governed by the International Masters Games Association (IMGA), the World Mast ...

, Kaur trained regularly at

Punjabi University Punjabi University is a collegiate state public university located in Patiala, Punjab, India. It was established on 30 April 1962 and is only the second university in the world to be named after a language, after Hebrew University of Israel. ...

, in hopes of improving upon her own world record which she set over the years. Her coach was her own son Gurdev Singh, who was 79 years old at that time. In the 2017 games, held in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, New Zealand she completed the 100 metre sprint in 74 seconds. In 2019 she competed in Poland winning four events in her category - shot put, 60m sprint, 200m, and the javelin. She completed the 60m race in 36 seconds and "felt great" afterwards. After this she and Gurdev were invited to tour universities in

Baru Sahib Baru Sahib also known as the "Valley of Divine Peace" is located in Himachal Pradesh, India. History Baru Sahib, the land of meditation (tapobhoomi), is the realization of vision of Sant Attar Singh Ji, Mastuane Wale (1866–1927), who, in th ...

where they inspired students when they spoke about their achievements and the diet they follow. As per those speeches, their diet includes nuts and pulses, home grown soy milk, kefir, wheatgrass juice, and sprouted wheat which they turn into chapatis. Late 2019, Kaur (age 103) won gold in the 200 meter dash at 3:01.61 and shot put at 2.21 m at the December 2019 Asian Masters Championship in Malaysia. On 8 March (

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against wom ...

) 2020 she was handed the

award. The award was presented at

Rashtrapati Bhavan The Rashtrapati Bhavan (, rāsh-truh-puh-ti bha-vun; ; originally Viceroy's House and later Government House) is the official residence of the President of India at the western end of Rajpath, Raisina Hill, New Delhi, India. Rashtrapati Bh ...

the Presidential Palace India in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

by the

President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu ...

with the

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of the ...

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...

, in attendance. She was nicknamed the "Miracle from Chandigarh". Kaur died on 31 July 2021, at the age of 105, after suffering from

gallbladder cancer Gallbladder cancer is a relatively uncommon cancer, with an incidence of fewer than 2 cases per 100,000 people per year in the United States. It is particularly common in central and South America, central and eastern Europe, Japan and northern Ind ...

.इंटरनेशनल मास्टर एथलीट मान कौर की जिंदगी की दौड़ पूरी, चंडीगढ़ में 105 वर्ष की उम्र में निधन इंटरनेशनल मास्टर एथलीट मान कौर की फाइल फोटो।

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaur, Man 1916 births 2021 deaths Punjabi people Indian centenarians Indian female athletes World record holders in masters athletics Nari Shakti Puraskar winners Masters athletes Women centenarians Deaths from gallbladder cancer

Life

See also

References