Canadian sprinter becomes world’s fastest 70-year-old
Ottawa's Wendy Alexis set her fourth world record of 2025 on Wednesday
Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club
Setting four world records in one year may sound impossible–but halfway through 2025, Ottawa sprinter Wendy Alexis has already done it. At the Ottawa Lions Twilight #2 meet on Wednesday, hosted at the Terry Fox Athletic Facility, the 70-year-old masters athlete soared to her fourth age-group world record of 2025, clocking 14.63 seconds over 100m.
The previous W70 mark of 14.70 had belonged to Canadian masters legend Karla Del Grande.
While Alexis may not have won Wednesday’s race (she was, after all, racing against athletes between 24 and 57 years younger than she is), winning is still a familiar concept to her. At the World Masters Athletics Indoor (WMAi) Championships in Gainesville, Fla., in March, Alexis won the W65 60m title, winning both her heat and the final in 8.98 and 8.95, respectively.
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Alexis set her three other world records from this year at the same championships. She took down the W70 200m record twice in one day–30.68 in heats and 30.33 in the final, placing fourth overall in the W65 division–and anchored Canada’s W65 4x200m team to a world title in a world-record time of 2:07.42.
Back in October, in an interview with Ottawa Sports Pages, Alexis had revealed her goal of surpassing Del Grande’s W70 100m mark in the upcoming outdoor season. “I’m confident I can get her [world] record,” she said. “Karla is such a fierce competitor, such a good friend. I think I have a bit of an advantage in the 60 and 100 metres, but who knows. She’s always there.”
Click here for full results from the Ottawa Lions Twilight #2.
