A 100-year-old woman who set a world record in the 100-meter dash has died at the age of 108

BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB/Gray News) – A senior Olympian who achieved national fame by setting records in the 100-meter dash has died at the age of 108.

Julia “Hurricane” Hawkins reportedly died Tuesday evening at St. Patrick’s Nursing Home. James Place in Baton Rouge. Advocate.

Hawkins earned her nickname in 2017 at the age of 101, becoming the oldest woman to compete in the 50-meter and 100-meter dashes at the National Senior Games. He broke this record just two years later.

In 2019, at the age of 105, she set a new world and U.S. record in the 100-meter dash at the Louisiana Senior Games in Hammond. She is the first woman and the first American to set a world record in Masters track and field in the 105+ age category.

Hawkins’ time was 1:02:95.

Advocate reported that she began running competitively in 2016, when her four children signed her up for the Louisiana Senior Games. Previously, at the age of 70, she took part in cycling competitions.

Born and raised in Ponchatula, she attended LSU, where she met her future husband, Murray Hawkins, during her freshman year. She then taught at LSU and headed the petroleum engineering department. She eventually gave up her career to raise her children.

Funeral arrangements for Hawkins have not been announced.