London, Ont.’s Canio Polosa sets 90+ Canadian 10K record

The 93-year old man who broke the 90-plus 5K age group record last fall added another Canadian masters record to his arsenal last weekend at the Springbank Sprint 10K in London, Ont. Canio Polosa hoped to finish the 10K race in an hour and 20 minutes but found he was faster, finishing the 10K in a new record time of 1:14:04.

1:14:04! Canio Polosa sets 3 Canadian Masters records in the 90-95 age bracket. The 10K, 8K and the 5 mile. (He beat the old 8K record by 15 minutes) #ldnont pic.twitter.com/z28Z9QG797

— Rebecca Zandbergen (@RebeccaZandberg) April 2, 2022

According to Canadian Masters records, Polosa set the new standard for Canadian men 90+ on a certified course. His time of 1:14:04 was just over two minutes shy of Spain’s Julian Bernal Medina’s 90+ world record of 1:11:54, set at the age of 90.

After the race, Polosa mentioned to local CBC reporter Rebecca Zandbergen that he’d been training all winter for this race with a new coach, Sherry Watts. “It’s not often that you see three Canadian records in one race,” Watts says. En route to his 10K time, Polosa also broke the men’s 90+ 8K and five-mile records by 15 minutes, taking both from the great Maurice Tarrant.

Polosa began running during his retirement, at age 60. “For eight years or so, I ran 10K’s, then I became interested in longer distances,” says Polosa. When he moved to London, he joined the London Pacers Running Club, which inspired him to run three marathons during the ’90s. Now at 93, Polosa continues to run and sets Canadian records in every race he enters.

He did it again! 93-year-old Canio Polosa set 3 CMA age group records in one race in #LdnOnt and Joanne Miklos den Iseger, better know as a thrower, added one W75 record. Pending ratification of course. Congratulations everyone!!

— Ontario Masters Athl (@OntarioMasters) April 2, 2022

He is considering running a longer race next time. “I’m happy to be alive,” he said to Zandbergen.