Sports Illustrated - USA (2022-06)

24 SPORTS ILLUSTRATED | SI.COM

FACE S IN THE CROWD

her usual Saturday appointment for

good reason: She was busy setting

a new 95–99 age-group world

record at the USATF Masters 5K

Championships in Atlanta, finishing

in 54:46.7 and besting the previous

mark by more than 30 minutes.

“I have to say yes, I was

confident,” Lindberg says. “But I had

no idea I’d do it in 55 minutes.”

Lindberg stumbled into running

MOST WEEKS Betty Lindberg has

a nearly full training schedule. The

97-year-old spends Mondays and

Tuesdays doing weight training

and f loor exercises at the gym. She

walks around the neighborhood on

Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.

Saturdays are her main rest days,

which she usually spends tending

to her curly gray hair at the salon.

But on Feb. 26, Lindberg canceled

BETTY

LINDBERG

Birthplace: Parkers Prairie, Minn.

Hometown: Atlanta

Date of Birth: Sept. 7, 1 9 2 4

Sport: Distance Running

Mile World Record (ages 90–94): 15:15.58

Photograph by KEVIN D. LILES