Home > Runs & Races

Carol Lafayette-Boyd is now the world’s fastest 80-year-old

The 80-year-old from Regina ran a 16-second 100m at the Canadian Masters Championships to break the 80+ world record

Photo by: Naomi Harris

Canada’s Carol Lafayette-Boyd has become the world’s fastest 80-year-old woman, breaking the 80+ age-group world record for 100m on Friday evening in 16.23 seconds at the Canadian Masters Track and Field Championships in her hometown of Regina.

Carol Lafayette-Boyd, who runs for Regina’s Excel Athletika Track and Field Club, now has 15 age-group world records to her name

Earlier this month, Lafayette-Boyd broke the women’s 200m world record for 80+ in a blazing time of 34.90 seconds. She now has 15 world records to her name (indoor and outdoor).

To put her spectacular time in perspective, her speed is 22.3 km/h per hour, which is faster than the pace of the world half marathon record.

At the same meet, LaFayette-Boyd also set a world record in the long jump, with a jump of 3.69m. She has now set three world records in July.

LaFayette-Boyd is a member of Regina’s Excel Athletika Track and Field Club, which hosted the national masters event. In 2018, she was named Athlete of the Year by World Masters Athletics (WMA).

Photo: Carol LaFayette-Boyd/Facebook

“It’s nice to do better than I did before and it’s nice to break the records,” LaFayette-Boyd said to the Saskatoon Star, “but I have so many medals that I take them home now and give them to my coaches.”

Lafayette-Boyd started running in her late 40s and didn’t win her first competitive track event until age 50. The great-grandmother has no plans of slowing down or hanging up her spikes as she plans to continue running for the rest of her life.

Check out the latest buyer's guide:

The best trainers in Canada under $150

We curated the best performance trainers under $150 to meet your 2024 running goals, while staying on budget