Commonwealth—Wendy Alexis, 70 years of age and living in Ottawa, has done what other people can only dream of: become the world’s fastest woman in the 70 age bracket. Where other individuals can only dream of being well enough to play with their grandchildren, Alexis took that dream to incredible levels by racing against younger women who were old enough to be her granddaughters and beating them most of the time.
Back in January of this year, Alexis had been on the front pages of global newspapers after her record-breaking achievements, which included a 14.64-second record in the women’s 70-year-old 100-meter dash at the 2025 Ottawa Summer Twilight #8. The world was amazed after her record-breaking achievement since it came as a verification that she was the world’s fastest female sprinter at 70 years old. The twice-a-grandma, twice-a-mom with one in production is not slowing down.
Her journey to all her success began a couple of years ago. Alexis was an eight-year-old runaway addict and overnight famous. She was provincially and nationally competitive for Canada during her teenage years and had even dreamed about racing at the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics. When she was 19 years old, a bad injury crushed her Olympic dream, forcing her to undergo double-shin surgery. Doctors informed her she’d never run again. Confronted with this foreboding diagnosis, she left behind track life and devoted herself to marriage, children, and a 30-year teaching career.
An unexpected meeting rekindled her passion for the sport after nearly 30 years. Sitting in the bleachers watching her grandson compete at an Ottawa Lions Track and Field meet, Alexis thought about competing in a Twilight meet in her area. She had participated in her first race for the sport, and she could hardly believe her finishing time. Inspired by the thrill of racing and encouragement from a coach, she soon returned to proper training, leading to a record-breaking comeback after more than thirty-three years away from competitive running. It was that choice that steered Alexis onto another career path, which has lasted over 20 years.
She has also competed on Swedish and Hungarian circuits against anyone of any age since restarting racing. One of her highlight examples of success stories is a feature of the 2013 World Masters Championships in Torino, where she served as the fourth runner for an all-male relay team and led the team to fourth place. Her competition here did not only pride itself in her dazzling speed but also that she does not have any problem keeping pace with younger, more diversified groups of competitors. To compete at this level, there needs to be a major commitment to training and maintaining the body.
Alexis has a rigorous regime, with approximately 25 hours a week of work training in sport. She does conditioning three times a week on the track, with off days consisting of weightlifting and deep-water running, and she sees a physiotherapist on a weekly basis to make sure she is in top condition. Her dedication is necessary to counteract the natural decline in muscle mass and speed that occurs with aging, allowing her to maintain her explosive power for sprinting. Though thoroughly trained, Alexis is irrevocably in love with the sport. Her win is proof of a perfectly balanced schedule of building up, flexing, and rehabilitating, thereby proving that high-level performance at an advanced age is possible. She agrees that it is required for her being competitive—all bits of her program: physio, weight training, and everything in between.
Wendy Alexis’ existence is living proof of hope, grit, and good old sporting spirit. From a potential young athlete to a sporting granny to ride out the time, she makes sure that it is never too early or ever too late to be a star. Her accomplishment inspires sportspersons of every age group to remain active, challenge themselves, and be sure that age need not be an issue in being a star.
The state announced that mediators are still available to negotiate, but there is increasing pressure to resolve the issue before the holiday season peaks.
