71-year-old 100m sprinter blows away competition at Penn Relays

One of the best moments of the track and field season every year is watching North America’s fastest masters athletes compete at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia—and this year’s edition did not disappoint. In the men’s 70+ 100m, Thomas Jones of Glenn Dale, Md., threw down a time for the ages, blazing past the competition to win in 12.89 seconds.

12.89 100m at 71 Years Old!

THOMAS JONES TAKES DOWN MICHAEL KISH.

The #PennRelays 70+ 100m dash did not disappoint.

Coverage presented by @on_running pic.twitter.com/THAQ7QPHAF

— FloTrack (@FloTrack) April 24, 2025

The 71-year-old topped the rest of the men’s 70+ division by nearly a full second, dethroning last year’s champion, Michael Kish, in the process.

Jones’s stride in the video says it all—once he hit top speed, there was no looking back. With this win, he might just earn some serious points in the world’s coolest grandpa competition. Let’s be honest, the line “my grandpa’s faster than you” hits different when it’s actually true.

To put his performance in perspective, Jones reached a top speed of nearly 28 km/h. That’s sensational for any age, but at 71? Unreal. His time was just shy of the men’s 70+ world record of 12.59 seconds, set by fellow American masters sprinter Damien Leake in 2023.

Jones has been sprinting for nearly four decades and has collected a number of global medals for Team USA in the men’s 60m (indoor), 100m, and 4x400m relay events at the World Masters Championships.